Posted on June 4, 2025
The Southern Centre for Shipbuilding and Ship Repair division of Russia’s state-owned United Shipbuilding Corporation has begun conducting sea trials of a new inland sand dredger slated for the country’s Federal Agency for Maritime and River Transportation (Rosmorrechflot).
Lotos-2 belongs to the Project 93.159 series of self-propelled, bucket wheel dredgers, the first example of which was handed over to Rosmorrechflot in 2023.
The dredger has a length of 50 metres, a beam of 11.88 metres, a maximum draught of 1.3 metres, and a maximum dredging depth of 10 metres. The design and the dredging equipment ensure suitability for working with silt, boggy soil, clay, gravel, and sand of various grades and suspensions.
The Project 93.159 series of dredgers was designed by Dutch engineering consultancy Royal IHC but equipped exclusively with Russian-made components. The vessels will be owned by State Transport Leasing Company (STLC) and will be used by Rosmorrechflot to dredge the Ob and Dvina Rivers as well as some of their tributaries.
The development and introduction of these dredgers is in line with the Russian Government’s goal of expanding the development of inland water transport.
Lotos-2 is scheduled for delivery to STLC by the end of this month.
