The dock is planned to have a 40-tonne capacity and will cover the technological aspects of marine shipbuilding at the Zvezda shipyard. Under the proposed contract, Chinese companies are to produce the design documentation and equipment as well as train the crew and carry out trials of the dock, which is to be located on the site of Zvezda in the far eastern Russian town of Bolshoy Kamen.
"The involvement of a competent Chinese shipbuilding company, which comprises all the state-owned shipbuilding enterprises north of Shanghai, will minimize risks while implementing the project. The experience of cooperating with the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation will in the future allow to continue cooperating in the area of producing maritime technology of varying complexity," Rosneft said in a statement.
The Zvezda shipyard is being built by a consortium comprising Rosneft, Rosneftegaz and Gazprom on the basis of the Far Eastern Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Center (FESRC). Rosneft has secured contracts for the design, construction and supply of new maritime equipment and vessels at the shipyard, including two multifunctional ice-breaking supply vessels.