News of our company

On 12.12.2014 a meeting of the working group on coordination, scientific, technical and organizational support of work on the implementation of the federal target program "Development of civil marine engineering for 2009-2016" took place in the Federal Agency of Maritime and River Transport. The meeting was held under the supervision of the Deputy of Head of RosMorRechflot Yuriy Kostin. Deputies of Head of RosMorRechflot Viktor Vovk and Alexander Poshivay participated in the meeting.
 
The General Director of Marine Engineering Bureau, professor, doctor of technical sciences Gennadiy Egorov reported during the meeting about results of concept projects of small-draught tug-barge trains for the Siberian rivers and railway ferryboats for Caspian and Baltic Seas.
 
Technical project of railway cargo-passenger ferryboat for transportation of railway wagons and Ro-Ro cargoes, with "Ice 2" class was discussed by the second. The ferryboat is intended for whole-year work at Caspian Sea without ice conveyance.
 
The main preconditions for creating new railway cargo-passenger ferryboats for the Caspian Sea are, as follows:
 
• sufficient capacity of existing and perspective cargo flows through International Transport Corridor "North-South"; for cargo flows servicing ferryboats are required which will be able to transport cargoes and passengers at the lines from Makhachkala port or Olya port to the Turkmenbashi port, Aktau port or Iran ports;
• absence of domestic railway cargo-passenger ferryboats at the Caspian Sea; so it's necessary to participate the market and to commence competition to the foreign ferryboats;
• absence of new ferryboats with ability of whole-year work without icebreaker conveyance;
• necessity of new generation ferryboats which meet the most up-to-date safety requirements, especially during dangerous cargoes transportation (ferryboats without closed cargo spaces are required).
 
Today the following railway ferry crossings work at the Caspian Sea, as follows:
 
• Alyat (Baku) - Turkmenbashi (automobile-passenger and railway crossing);
• Alyat (Baku) - Aktau (automobile-passenger and railway crossing).
 
The main transported cargoes are crude oil and petroleum products, food and agricultural produce, building materials.
 
On 06.10.2014 a new up-to-date ferry terminal Alyat commenced to work. It is new Marine Trading Port of Baku. Due to this event, old ferry terminal of Baku completed its work.
 
Totally 17 marine ferryboats (of 4 projects) are under operation. 13 vessels of them are railway cargo-passenger one of 3 projects (11611-A, 10802E, 0379). The last 4 ferryboats (161 prj.) are marine automobile-passenger (cargo-passenger) ferryboats for passenger and Ro-Ro technics transportation.
 
All the railway ferryboats and 2 cargo-passenger ones belong to Azerbaijan Caspian Marine Shipping Company. Railway crossings from Russian port of Makhachkala stopped after 4 ferryboats od "Makhachkala" type (4 pcs.) were sold in 2011.
 
Additionally, "Caspius 2012" Company fulfils automobile-passenger transportation from Olya port and Makhachkala port with help of two ferryboats of 161 prj.
 
Due to Autumn 2014 data, the mean age of marine ferryboats operated at the Caspian Sea (17 pcs) is 27.4 years. The mean age of the Caspian marine ferryboats (13 pcs.) which are able to transport railway wagons is 18.4 years.
 
This moment construction of 2 Caspian automobile-passenger (cargo-passenger) ferryboats for Turkmenistan is completed. Moreover National Kazakh Marine Shipping Company "KazMorTransFlot" is interested in buying MM155 railway cargo ferryboats which can be operated on diesel fuel or LNG.
 
It may be noted that all existing Caspian ferryboats have closed cargo spaces; this negatively influences either onto speed of loading-unloading operations at ferry crossings or shipping safety. One may remember wreck of railway cargo-passenger ferryboat "Merkuriy-2" ("Sovetskiy Dagestan" type) in 2002.
 
Moreover, existing ferryboats cannot be operated at ice conditions of the Northern part of the Caspian Sea (Olya port region) without icebreaker conveyance. This problems affect operational time and expenses.
 
As a result two modifications of railway-automobile ferryboat for the Caspian Sea with "Ice 2" class intended for transportation of railway wagons, automobiles and passengers were carried out, as follows:
 
• CNF18A project foresees transportation of 2 passengers per each cargo car train; she also can transport dangerous cargoes. Actually CNF18A is a cargo-passenger vessel;
• CNF18B project foresees transportation of wagons and car trains and additionally transportation of tourist passengers and business passengers with their own cars. Actually CNF18B is a cargo-passenger vessel with cruise function.
 
New CNF18A and CNF18B ferryboats are steel self-propelled vessels with bulbous fore end and transom aft end, with excess freeboard, with deck-house located fore, with engine room located aft, with twin- screw diesel propulsion plant, with stern and bow thrusters.
 
CNF18A ferryboat assigned for transportation of 54 railway trains of Russian standard with 1520 mm track breadth including ones with dangerous goods) and also passengers (2 passengers per single cargo car train) using the aft cargo handling scheme.
 
Vessel also is intended for dangerous cargo transportation on the open upper deck in accordance with International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code (IMDG Code) and national Maritime Dangerous Goods Transportation Regulation (MOPOG Rules).
 
100 passengers may be placed and transported onboard the vessel. Simultaneously transportation of passengers and dangerous cargoes is foreseen according to dangerous goods transportation regulations.
 
Main particulars of CNF18A railway ferryboat are, as follows:
 
RS class notation KM Ice 2 R1 AUT1-ICS OMBO ECO HELIDECK Ro-ro passenger ship;
- length overall is 150.00 m;
length due to DWL is 147.60 m;
breadth overall is 17.70 m;
depth is 7.50 m;
draught (summer free board) is 4.50 m;
deadweight at draught 4.50 m is about 5435 t;
summarized capacity of power plant is 5200 kW;
operational speed is 14 kn;
railway wagons (length 12.02 m) capacity is 54 pcs.;
car trains (w/o wagons) capacity is 50 pcs.;
crew and service staff consist of 30 people;
passengers number is 100;
fuel autonomy is 10 days.
 
Single cabins with natural lighting are foreseen for crew and service staff arrangement onboard, as follows:
 
• 3 single module cabins for master, chief mate, chief engineer; each module cabin consists of office, bedroom and toilet;
• 5 enhanced single cabins with toilet for officers;
• 22 single cabins with toilet for seamen and service staff.
 
Cabins are foreseen for 100 passengers arrangement onboard, as follows:
 
• 2 enhanced single cabins with toilet;
• 24 double cabins (converted into 4-places ones) with toilet.
 
There are 130 places onboard totally.
 
All necessary compartments are prepared for crew and service staff, as follows: galley (there is separate one for passengers); crew relaxation saloon; mess-room / crew dining room; provisions stores (there is separate one for passengers); laundry; drying room; iron room; work clothes room; public water closets; gym-health complex including gymnasium, sauna, shower, water pool.
 
Set of compartments are foreseen for passengers, as follows: duty-free shop, interne coffee, game-playing machines saloon with bar, 50 places restaurant, smoking-room.
 
There medical rooms (medical block) which include:
 
• physician room / outpatient clinic;
• 1-place hospital;
• 1-place isolation ward.
 
Ferryboat is equipped with two 22-places lifeboats placed fore by sides. Lifeboats' launching is carried out by help of double-hinged gravitational davits.
 
Also two marine evacuation systems (MES) with closed inflatable living raft and evacuation pipe for ensuring access to the raft are arranged by sides. Accepted evacuation rate is 582 people per 30 minutes. Each evacuation system includes two 51-places living self-recovering rafts.
 
Cargo elevator for two railway tracks with capacity of 188 t (16.51 m length) is foreseen for loading/unloading railway wagons Ro-Ro cargoes from upper deck to lower deck and vice versa.
 
The upper deck is designed for transportation of wagons or tank wagons of 94 t on any railway lines. Permissible load of wheeled vehicles on the axle is as follows: 12 t for 4 wheels on the axle; 10 t for 2 wheels on the axle.
 
Vessel is assigned for transportation of 54 railway trains of Russian standard (T-1 dimension) with 1520 mm track breadth, 50 car trains, 16 passenger cars, 150 tourist passengers and business passengers with their own cars using the aft cargo handling scheme.
 
Main particulars of CNF18B railway ferryboat are, as follows:
 
RS class notation KM Ice 2 R1 AUT1-ICS OMBO ECO HELIDECK Ro-ro passenger ship;
length overall is 150.00 m;
length due to DWL is 147.60 m;
breadth overall is 17.70 m;
depth is 7.50 m;
draught (summer free board) is 4.50 m;
deadweight at draught 4.50 m is about 5290 t;
summarized capacity of power plant is 5200 kW;
operational speed is 14 kn;
railway wagons (length 12.02 m) capacity is 54 pcs.;
car trains plus passenger cars (w/o wagons) capacity is 50 pcs.+ 16 pcs.;
crew and service staff consist of 45 people;
passengers number is 150;
fuel autonomy is 10 days.
 
Cabins are foreseen for 150 passengers arrangement onboard, as follows:
 
• 2 enhanced single cabins with toilet (including cabin for disable people);
• 23 double cabins (converted into 4-places ones) with toilet;
• 12 inner double cabins (converted into 4-places ones) with toilet.
 
There are 195 places onboard totally.
 
Set of compartments are foreseen for passengers, as follows: duty-free shop, interne coffee, game-playing machines saloon with bar, 76 places restaurant, smoking-room.
 
Ferryboat is equipped with two 42-places lifeboats placed fore by sides. Lifeboats' launching is carried out by help of double-hinged gravitational davits.
 
Also two marine evacuation systems (MES) with closed inflatable living raft and evacuation pipe for ensuring access to the raft are arranged by sides. Accepted evacuation rate is 582 people per 30 minutes. Each evacuation system includes 51-places and 101-places living self-recovering rafts.
 
Cargo elevator for two railway tracks with capacity of 188 t (16.51 m length) is foreseen for loading/unloading railway wagons Ro-Ro cargoes from upper deck to lower deck and vice versa.
 
The upper deck is designed for transportation of wagons or tank wagons of 94 t on any railway lines. Permissible load of wheeled vehicles on the axle is as follows: 12 t for 4 wheels on the axle; 10 t for 2 wheels on the axle.
 
Operation economic efficiency of CNF18A and CNF18B passenger railway-automobile ferryboats was defined by Central Research Maritime Fleet Institute (CRMFI) for several international ferry lines from Russian ports of the Caspian Sea, as follows:
 
• port of Olya (Russia) - port of Turkmenbashi (Turkmenistan) - port of Olya (Russia);
• port of Olya (Russia) - port of Anzali (Iran) - port of Olya (Russia);
• port of Makhachkala (Russia) - port of Aktau (Kazakhstan) - port of Makhachkala (Russia).
 
As a result of carried out by CRMFI modeling of marine ferryboats work from Russian ports of the Caspian Sea at set operational lines, it is followed that during operational period CNF18A and CNF18B passenger railway-automobile ferryboats will effect in average single circle voyage per 10 days at any of the investigated line. Accordingly, ferryboat will effect 35 circle voyages per year operational period.
 
Economic efficiency analyze of operation of compared CNF18A and CNF18B marine ferryboats with different passenger capacity and ability of passenger cars transportation showed, that:
 
• at the Olya - Anzali line car trains are transported only, passenger number depends on ferryboat's passenger capacity. So economic rates for CNF18B is better, payback period for such ferryboat is by 4% less than for CNF18A one;
• at other lines (Olya - Turkmenbashi and Makhachkala - Aktau) there is combined transport flow (wagons and car trains). Economic rates for both ferryboats at these lines are close; payback period difference is about 1-2%.
 
Results of operational-economical calculations for discussed ferryboats showed that if using loading coefficients 0.9, 0.8, 0.7 and 0.6 than the results are as follows:
 
• economic efficiency is high enough at all investigated directions for all loading variants; payback period is 3.2 - 11.5 years depending on loading coefficient's value;
• the smallest payback period is for Makhachkala - Aktau line, the biggest one is for Olya - Anzali line; this outcome is explained by difference of line length (170 and 480 miles) and corresponding lower transportation rate at the more lengthy line;
• summarized economic characteristic of ferryboats' operational period for all investigated lines depends on loading coefficient's value and are as follows: payback period is 4 - 8 years, profitability is 24-13%.
 
As a result, Marine Engineering Bureau worked out up-to-date projects of railway cargo-passengers ferryboats for the Caspian Sea with "Ice 2" class assigned for transportation of railway wagons and Ro-Ro cargoes. The ferryboats are intended for whole-year passengers and cargo transportation (including dangerous goods at CNF18A) without ice conveyance.
 
RosMorRechflot working group on coordination, scientific, technical and organizational support of work on the implementation of the federal target program "Development of civil marine engineering for 2009-2016" accepted introduced project of railway cargo-passenger ferryboat for transportation of railway wagons and Ro-Ro cargoes, with "Ice 2" class. Vessel is intended for whole-year work at Caspian Sea without ice conveyance.