At present, a wide range of ships and vessels of the auxiliary fleet are being built - from huge, 10 thousand tons of displacement ocean support vessels to offshore tugs.
It should be noted that if the warships of the Soviet-built Navy are mainly from the 80s, then the auxiliary ships of the Navy are usually older.
Explorers of the Deep
In the interests of the Main Directorate of Deep-Sea Research of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the construction of several ships and submarines is underway. A new specialized fleet is being created before our eyes.
In 2016, the second hull of the Almaz oceanographic research vessel of project 22010 was laid down at the Yantar shipyard. The first ship, Yantar, was handed over to the Navy in 2015 and went to serve in the Northern Fleet. He has already made a number of trips to the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, the Persian Gulf region and presumably was engaged in the search and study of communication cables laid along the bottom. At least one trip was made in the interests of the Federal Agency for Subsoil Use.
The Almaz is to be handed over to the Navy for the Pacific Fleet in 2019. The new ship is needed to support launches from the Russian Vostochny cosmodrome. Both Yantar and Almaz can carry and use a wide range of manned and unmanned underwater vehicles.
Petersburg plant "Pella" is building two ships of project 11982 "Ladoga" and "Ilmen". Seliger, the lead in this series, was built at the Yantar shipyards and handed over to the Navy in 2012. These ships are designed to test a variety of underwater vehicles and explore the seabed. Ladoga was laid down in 2013, launched in 2016 and will be transferred to the Navy (to the Baltic Fleet) this year. Ilmen was founded in 2014. The time of transfer and the fleet to which the ship is destined are not yet known.
In 2016, the project 16450 oceanographic research ship Akademik Ageev was laid down at the Pella shipyard. It is most likely being built to carry out work in the Russian underwater observation system being created.
In 2016, the ship was laid down at Yantar - the carrier of the underwater vehicles Yevgeny Goriglezhan of project 02670. It will be transferred to the Black Sea Fleet in 2017.
In addition to these ships, in the interests of the GUGI, at least five harbor tugs of projects 16609 and 90600 were built, equipped with various equipment for conducting underwater research.
In 2015, the floating dock of project 22570 "Sviyaga" was transferred to the Northern Fleet. It is designed for servicing underwater vehicles.
The Sevmash plant continues construction of the submarine of project 09852 “Belgorod” and it is possible that it is also working on the nuclear power plant of project 10831 (“The Deepest Secret of Russia”).
In December 2016, after a lengthy modernization, the nuclear-powered carrier of the BS-64 "Podmoskovye" autonomous deep-water stations was transferred to the fleet.
It is especially worth noting that two deep-sea underwater vehicles of project 16811 "Rus" and "Consul", laid down in Soviet times for the Ministry of Geology, were completed in 2000 and 2011, but transferred not to geologists, but to the GUGI fleet.
Sea transports
The prospective appearance of the auxiliary fleet is formed on the basis of the following main classes: multifunctional logistic support vessels, integrated port service vessels, sea transports of weapons and ammunition, tankers and icebreakers. At the same time, multifunctionality is immediately incorporated into the project, which allows performing various operations, while the number of support vessels may be reduced in the future. Also characteristic is the widespread use of civilian technologies, including the adaptation for the Navy of samples built for civilian customers.
Sea tugs of project 23120 were initially laid down at Severnaya Verf as logistics support vessels, but then their class was changed. In 2012, Elbrus was laid, in 2013 - Vsevolod Bobrov, in 2014 - Captain Shevchenko. The ships were planned to be transferred during 2014-2016 to the Northern, Black Sea and Pacific fleets, but for various reasons, in particular due to the shortage of equipment due to sanctions, the construction was delayed. In 2016, Elbrus entered the Navy, and Vsevolod Bobrov was launched. "Captain Shevchenko" is mothballed on the slipway of the plant. The representatives of this project are in many ways similar to the supply vessels built by Severnaya Verf for foreign customers, as well as those that will become the backbone of Gazprom's fleet in the development of Arctic shelf fields.
Almaz Central Design Bureau has developed a basic project 20180. This includes the Zvezdochka rescue and tugboat, which is essentially a platform for testing various types of underwater weapons and equipment.
In 2016, the Project 20180TV Akademik Kovalev maritime armament transport was added to the Pacific Fleet. The main purpose is the transportation and loading of ballistic missiles "Bulava" for submarines of project 955. CS "Zvezdochka" continues construction of the rescue and tugboat of project 20183 "Akademik Aleksandrov" and sea transport of weapons of project 20181 "Akademik Makeev". And perhaps this will not end there.
During 2014, the Pella shipyard handed over to the fleet four integrated port service vessels of project 01380. Umba and Pecha became part of the Northern Fleet, VTN-73 - the Black Sea Fleet, VTN-74 - the Baltic Fleet. Preparations are underway for the construction of ice-class support vessels of project 03183 with the transfer of the first samples to the Navy in 2020.
In July 2016, the Admiralty shipyards launched the first project 21180 Ilya Muromets icebreaker for the Navy for many years. It also has the functionality of a sea tug and a patrol ship and can be used to support the activities of the Arctic group. There are plans to order three such icebreakers, but no contracts have been signed for them yet. And "Ilya Muromets" this year will join the Federation Council.
Tankers
The sharply increased activity of the Russian Navy in the far ocean zone necessitated new supply tankers. In 2013, the Russian Navy ordered a medium sea tanker of project 23130 "Akademik Pashin" to the Nevsky Shipyard. In the spring of 2016, it was launched and in 2017 it will be transferred to the Federation Council. The Navy expects to receive three more such ships.
In 2014, two project 23131 tankers, which have not yet been named, were laid down at the Zaliv plant in Kerch. They are to be transferred to the Navy in 2017–2018.
Also in 2014, the Navy ordered the construction of four tankers of project 01382. Vostochnaya Verf and Zelenodolsk shipyard are to build two such vessels, one each with ice reinforced hulls.
Rescue ships
In 2015, the Navy accepted the new generation Igor Belousov rescue vessel of project 21300. It was laid down at the Admiralty shipyards back in 2005, it took a long time to build, primarily due to the complex filling of the deep-sea diving complex. In 2016, the ship made the transition to the Pacific Fleet. In 2014, the composition of the Navy replenished the descent vehicle of project 18271 AS-40, which will be based just on board the Belousov.
Four rescue tugs of project 22870 are being built at the Astrakhan branch of the Zvezdochka CS for the Black Sea Fleet and the Caspian Flotilla.
The Black Sea Fleet has already included "Professor Nikolai Muru", the Caspian Flotilla has been replenished with "SB-45" and "SB-738". SB-739 is under construction.
