The Kronshlot self-unloading dredger of the FSUE “Rosmorport” Astrakhan Branch, which joined the group of dredging vessels on the Volga-Caspian Sea Shipping Canal (VCSSC) in 2023, showed a result that exceeded the plan by 72 % at the end of the year. The actual volume of dredging at VCSSC reached 500 thousand cub. m against the target of 290 thousand cub. m.

The total volume of dredging works at VCSSC, provided with the help of 18 dredgers owned and involved by the enterprise, amounted to a record 10.2 mln cub. m.

Taking into account the teamwork and cohesion of the work carried out last year on the canal exposed to drifting, as well as the importance of the successfully completed task on achievement of the canal draught of 4.5 m at VCSSC, the crew of the Kronshlot dredger, according to the results of 2023, won the nomination “The best crew of the dredging fleet of FSUE “Rosmorport” and was awarded a commemorative sign. The awarding took place in a solemn atmosphere during the meeting chaired by Sergey Pylin, General Director of FSUE “Rosmorport”, with the heads of subdivisions of the central office and branches of the enterprise to identify key tasks and activities for 2024 and the medium term until 2026.

In addition, the Kronshlot dredger crew members - Vyacheslav Busargin, senior sailor - operator of the vessel's special devices, and Sergey Shein, senior mechanic – were rewarded by the Director of the Astrakhan Branch of the enterprise with gratitude for their labor achievements, conscientious work and in connection with the celebration of the Day of Maritime and River Fleet Workers. The letter of thanks of the Governor of the Astrakhan region was awarded to Vladimir Martyanov, a bagermaster-captain of the dredger.

The works at VCSSC, the scale and complexity of which are associated with intensive drifting against the background of the Caspian Sea level decrease, will be continued in 2024. To maintain the specified depths, it is planned to carry out repair dredging in the amount of 9.8 mln cub. m. In order to reduce drifting in the offshore part of the canal FSUE “Rosmorport” is also implementing a project to construct protective structures, which are geobags filled with soil extracted during repair dredging. The geobags are placed on the canal's shores to prevent back drifting of soil.

The Kronshlot dredger was transferred to the economic management of the FSUE “Rosmorport” Astrakhan Branch in 2022. Earlier the vessel was under the management of the North-Western Basin Branch.

Kronshlot has two engines with a total power of 1,492 kW and is driven by two four-bladed adjustable pitch screws with a diameter of 2.2 m. The vessel is equipped with a drag-and-drop suction device and pumps with a capacity of up to 1,000 cub. m of excavated soil per hour, with which silt, sand and sandy loam can be excavated at depths of up to 20 m. The dredged soil is collected in the 1,000 cub. m soil hold, and then, after it is delivered by the dredger to the designated areas, it is discharged.

The Kronshlot dredger can be unloaded either by discharging through the bottom doors or by throwing the soil mixed with water to a distance of up to 60 m by refueling to the shore or to a barge through connection to the slurry pipeline. The dredger is equipped with a grapple crane with a lifting capacity of 20 t and a bucket volume of 3.8 cub. m.

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In 2023, by order of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, FSUE “Rosmorport” carried out unprecedented work to achieve a canal draught of 4.5 m on the Volga-Caspian Sea Shipping Canal as part of the global task on ensuring the operation of the international North-South transport corridor. More than 40 vessels of the dredging and auxiliary fleet were involved in the works, including 18 dredgers, which provided the dredging volume many times higher than in previous years. As a result of the VCSSC development work, cargo turnover at the seaports of Astrakhan and Olya in 2023 increased by more than 1.5 times compared to the previous year.