MURMANSK, April 24. /TASS/. The national ensigns were flown on new rescue tugboats of the Arc4 ice class - The Timan and The Tepsey, which sailed to their home port in Murmansk, a TASS correspondent reported.
The ceremony featured Andrey Tarasenko of the Federal Agency for Maritime and River Transport, Viktor Chernov of the Maritime Rescue Service, which has ordered and will operate the vessels, and Andrey Chibis - the Murmansk Region's governor.
"The president has set the task of creating a rescue fleet. Such remarkable vessels have been built in Russia. The vessels' equipment is 70% Russian-made," Tarasenko told reporters.
The Timan and The Tepsey Arctic rescue tugs of the NE025 project were built for the Marine Rescue Service at the Oka Shipyard. The vessels are designed to participate in emergency and rescue operations, to tow watercraft, participate in oil spills response, and to ensure safe maneuvering of large vessels in difficult areas of the Northern Sea Route's ports and harbors.
"These two rescue tugboats are the result of the Great Northern Sea Route project's implementation. The building has coincided with the period of sanctions, the customer and the designer had to find new solutions on the move, and here we have these two watercraft at the Maritime Rescue Service in Murmansk. This is a major contribution to the Northern Sea Route safety, the safety of facilities located in its waters," Governor Andrey Chibis added.
The Arc4 ice class means vessels may sail in the Arctic independently through thin ice up to 80 cm thick in summer and autumn, and through ice up to 60 cm thick in winter and spring. In freezing non-Arctic seas, tugboats can operate all year round in light ice conditions.
About vessels and the Maritime Rescue Service
These vessels are highly efficient and reliable. They can manage various operating conditions and perform a wide range of tasks to tow and support vessels. Their main feature is the operation in the Arctic region on the Northern Sea Route.
The state-run Marine Rescue Service is subordinate to Russia's Ministry of Transport. The service performs ship-lifting, diving, underwater technical and other rescue operations, including offshore towing of vessels and complex structures, such as drilling platforms, in Russia's all marine basins.