Volga Shipping Company will be building the new RSD71 design sea-going dry bulk ships. A large-scale fleet renewal program will begin with four river-sea mixed class vessels. The RSD71 project is being developed by the Marine Engineering Bureau. The construction is slated to begin in 2021.

The Volga Shipping Company Board has approved the construction of new dry-cargo ships of mixed class and shipbuilding contracts. A series of first four vessels of the new RSD71 design will start the programme for the construction of a new fleet of Volga Shipping Company. The programme is intended until 2030 and includes the construction of about 20 dry cargo ships of this project.

“At this phase, we are planning to build four dry cargo vessels of the new RSD71 project: the first two vessels delivery is scheduled for 2022, followed by two more units in 2023,” says Yuri Gilts, General Director, Volga Shipping Company. – Further, we plan to build two to four units every year, gradually renewing our fleet, replacing the aging in 5-8 years dry cargo ships of the Omsk and Sormovsky class. The renewal of the dry cargo vessel fleet will enable our company to maintain and strengthen its position in the transportation of export cargoes in the most demanded market sectors. The new RSD71 dry cargo vessel project will be multipurpose, outperforming the Volgo-Don Max class capabilities.

The main significant advantage of the RSD71 project vessel over other dry cargo ships of modern designs is the length. The RSD71 ship length overall is 120 meters. At the same time, the vessel DWT at sea is 7,170 tonnes, and in the river – 4,380 tonnes. The main particulars of the ship will allow the new vessel to carry all the cargo transported by Volga Shipping Company, including those cargo with restrictions on the size of ships. The mixed sea-river class dry cargo ship of RSD71 project is optimized for operation with limited draft on the river and has an enhanced seaworthiness class, which will expand the area of operation of the company’s fleet.

The new sea-going dry cargo vessels will feature the highest possible automation class and meet modern energy efficiency and environmental compliance rules.

The ships will be built at Nizhny Novgorod region based Okskaya Shipyard JSC owned by Volga Shipping Company. The project is being developed by the Volga Shipping Company in cooperation with Marine Engineering Bureau.