Enisesy will not receive a new ferryboat this year.
Rewritten Article:
Lately, it appears that the modern passenger ship, the "Victor Astafiev," which is being built in St. Petersburg for the Krasnoyarsk region along with another vessel, "Andrei Dubensky," might not make its way to the Yenisei River in 2025 as previously hoped. The new launch dates for these ships have yet to be announced. However, it seems that the delivery of the "Astafiev" will take place, as planned, this season.
During a press conference dedicated to the launch of river navigation in Siberia, it became known that there are no plans to introduce new ships in navigation 2025, as reported by Oleg Dunayev, deputy head of the fleet administration of the Yenisei basin's inland waterways.
"I'm sorry to say that the Krasnoyarsk region will not receive a new ship this year. This is due to the difficulties faced by the shipyard manufacturer, which includes organizing the transportation of the ship. We are expecting one of the ships in 2026 and hope that it will be delivered to the region. Sadly, for the 2025 season, our passengers in the Yenisei basin will not be able to utilize thenew ship's transportation services," Dunayev revealed.
It's worth mentioning that the new, modern ships are being constructed at the Sredny Nevsky Shipyard in St. Petersburg specifically for the Yenisei. They will travel the route of Kransnoyarsk – Duдinka – Kransnoyarsk and replace the old ships, "A. Matrosov" and "V. Chkalov," which were built more than 70 years ago.
The mixed-type navigation ships (river-sea) project A45-90.2 "Victor Astafiev" and "Andrei Dubensky" were laid down on the Sredny Nevsky Shipyard in 2020 and 2021, and plans to launch them on the Great Siberian River as early as 2023 had been considered. However, significant international economic and political events intervened.
Nevertheless, construction is still ongoing, and the "Astafiev" was ceremoniously launched onto the water in July 2024. They had indicated back then that the first new ship should arrive in Yenisei by 2025, with the second ship arriving a year later. Therefore, it was expected that the first new ship would be placed into service in 2026.
Unfortunately, the plans have been shifted yet again – however, only partially.
"We hadn't planned to carry passengers on the new ship this year, and it was only about its transportation. Even if transportation doesn't occur, the ship built on the Sredny Nevsky Shipyard will still be delivered in 2025 in accordance with the terms of the contract," they clarified to our publication in the "Center for Transport Logistics."
They revealed that construction is proceeding according to schedule despite various challenges.
"This is the lead ship, an entirely new object, the first in a series of large civilian ships. They have complex internal structures and require more time for building as they have complicated designs. One of the difficulties related to construction, for example, was the need for redesigning, which was being done throughout the construction process. A ship of this 'river-sea' class is being constructed for the first time for the Arctic zone," the Kransnoyarsk region's commissioner shared.
The new ships will significantly improve the quality of passenger transportation on the Yenisei – passengers from Krasnoyarsk and the surrounding area will undoubtedly have a chance to test the new vessels in the near future.
Photo: Vyacheslav Zaikin, Sredny Nevsky Shipyard, government of the region.
- Due to the transportation challenges faced by the shipyard, it seems that the financial sector might need to adjust its plans for the delivery of the new ships, specifically the "Astafiev," to the Yenisei region in 2025.
- The new ships, including the "Victor Astafiev," which are being constructed in the industry sector, are designed for transportation on the route of Kransnoyarsk – Duдinka – Kransnoyarsk, and upon their arrival, they will replace the old ships in the Yenisei transportation system.
