Huge state orders for Zvezdochka shipyard
2011 looks to become a busy year for the Zvezdochka shipyard outside Arkhangelsk as the Russian Navy has ordered maintenance of nearly 300 vessels at the plant.
The state order for 2011 is 71 percent higher than last year. Zvezdochka will conduct maintenance on 208 different vessels from the Northern Fleet, including large anti-submarine vessels, strategic submarines, the Northern Fleet’s flag vessel the nuclear powered battle cruiser “Pyotr Veliky” and Russia’s only aircraft carrier “Admiral Kuznetsov”, Central Naval Portal writes.
In order to cope with the large amount of work, Zvezdochka has reorganized its Department for de-commissioning of nuclear objects to a Department for technical supervision and service maintenance.
In addition to the Northern Fleet vessels, Zvezdochka has also received orders for maintenance of 55 vessels from the Caspian Flotilla and 24 vessels from the Novorossiysk Naval base.
All vessels belonging to the Northern Fleet will be repaired at Zvezdochka’s plants in Severodvinsk and the Murmansk region, while the other vessels will be handled at the company’s yards in Astrakhan and the Krasnodar Kray.
Zvezdochka is first of all known for its extensive experiences within the field repair works on nuclear submarines. The last years, the yard has also engaged in civilian shipbuilding. Military orders remain however the main occupation. The yard includes two subsidiaries in Murmansk Oblast, the Nerpa yard and the Yard No 35, as well as units in Astrakhan, Moscow, Kaluga Oblast and the Krasnodar Kray.