Greece has signed a deal that could lead to the construction of a series of high-speed hydrofoil passengerships at Russia’s Vympel Shipyard.
Russian transport minister Maksim Sokolov announced the memorandum of agreement (MOA) during a recent trip to Greece, according to a report by Russian news agency Tass.
“There is still no solid contract but we are open for this interaction, since the project is quite successful,” Sokolov said at the 82nd Thessaloniki International Fair.
The MOA is for four Comet 120M vessels.
Vympel civil shipbuilding department head Sergey Mazokhin confirmed that negotiations are under way, but he was unwilling to provide more information on the project, such as pricing and the identity of the customer.
Such details are a “trade secret”, he told TradeWinds by e-mail.
Earlier Russian media reports stated that Vympel has been working with a Greek outfit called Argonautica Ploes on the project, but the company does not appear in Greek shipping directories.
News agency RIA Novosti has suggested a price exceeding €6m ($7.2m) per ship.
Mazokhin adds that Vympel also has Russian customers for the Comet 120M.
On 23 August, Sokolov and other high-ranking officials attended a keel-laying ceremony for the first vessel at Vympel’s Rybinsk yard.
He told Russian website Portnews: “After a pause of almost 20 years in the construction of hydrofoils, the laying down and consequent serial production of new-generation vessels at Vympel Shipyard is a milestone in the development of domestic shipbuilding. It will facilitate the development of passenger transportation.”
Sokolov added there are passenger transport opportunities for the Comet 120M in the Black Sea and the Baltic, as well as Russian rivers.
The 35-metre coastal and river vessel was designed by Alekseev Hydrofoil Design Bureau in Nizhny Novgorod. Powered by twin MTU electronic fuel-injection diesel engines for fuel efficiency, it can carry up to 120 passengers in aircraft-type seats at a maximum speed of 35 knots.
