Export variant proposed for Delfin-class submarine rescue ship

Russia’s Almaz Central Marine Design Bureau has proposed an export variant of the Project 21300 or Delfin (“Dolphin”) class of submarine rescue ships.

The new class of ships will be referred to as Project 21301 but will have many of the same specifications as those of Project 21300.

One notable difference is in the type of diving system to be employed. The Project 21301 ships will each have a deep-sea diving system that can rescue crews of submerged distressed submarines at depths of up to 300 metres whereas Igor Belousov, thus far the only Project 21300 ship ever built, has a diving system with a rated depth of 450 metres.

It has been reported that the 300-metre-depth diving system will be installed on newer Project 21300 ships if Russia decides to resume construction of the class.

The Project 21301 vessel will have a length of 117 metres, a width of 18.2 metres, and a crew endurance of 45 days. Four 2,100kW diesel engines will deliver a maximum speed of 17 knots.