Type ship of the Almaz central R&D bureau's Project 11980, the VM comes from the Rybinsk wharf on the Volga, in the Yaroslavl Region. Launched July 15, the VM was made on order of the Russian Navy's search-and-rescue board. The Northern Fleet received the vessel after performance trials, some in a storm.
The VM 596 can make diving works on a depth up to 60 metres, says Captain Alexander Sbitnev. It will be good in bottom surveying, sunken object search and lift, and underwater maintenance. The ship has a Falcon distance-controlled apparatus, which can work as deep as 300 metres down. Deep-sea hydraulic and welding equipment goes together with a satellite television system and a decompression chamber. The principal engines have a 150 hp power. The ship can spend up to ten days in independent cruise, and withstands wind force 5 in storms.
The crew, of 29, includes five qualified divers-all top-notch men, each with a rescue crew working record at depths up to 250 metres, Captain Sbitnev proudly added.
The VM 596 came as a first diving ship built for the Russian Navy after a break slightly shorter than twenty years.
Its assignment to the Northern Fleet is coming as a landmark, a fleet HQ spokesman said to Novosti. Whatever diving ships the Northern Fleet now has are close to the end of their service term. Another two are expected to join the fleet after the Project 11980 type is launched into mass production. That will be as soon as the type ship goes through practical tests.
Severomorsk, Northern Fleet central base, will be the new vessel's registration port.
