The Federal Autonomous Institution “Main Directorate of State Expertise” (FAU “Glavgosekspertiza of Russia”) examined the design and accounting documentation and gave a positive opinion on the reconstruction of the coastal facilities of the road and railway ferry service in the Vanino sea port. And work is already underway in the sea port of Kholmsky. The developer is FSUE “Rosmorport”.
In July, at a meeting on maritime communication and infrastructure in the Far East, the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation – plenipotentiary representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Far Eastern Federal District, Yuri Trutnev, called for the acceleration of work in this direction. The federal target program “Economic and social development of the Far East and the Baikal region” provides for the reconstruction of piers No. 14 and No. 14a in Vanino as part of the Vanino-Kholm road and railway complex, replacement of drawbridges, repair of technological buildings at the ferry crossing and the connecting flyover for entering the motor vehicle quay, as well as the reconstruction of sea abutments.
According to Valery Ovchinnikov, chief expert on the project of the Department of Comprehensive Expertise of the Crimean branch of Glavgosexpertiza of Russia, the reconstruction of the port complex in the port of Vanino on the Vanino-Kholmsk line will increase the safety of transport links with Sakhalin.
The project envisages the installation of new navigational equipment on the approach to the quay.
Regarding the reconstruction of the Kholmsk seaport, the dismantling of the superstructure of the anchorage and drawbridge and partially of the steering supports was completed in August. During dredging, about 30,000 cubic meters of soil were removed. The specialists started the construction of the mooring wall, they had to concrete the pedestal massifs, arrange the support and span beams.
Will the reconstruction stop the ferry service on the Vanino-Kholmsk line? Is the island’s port ready to receive and service the new Alexander Deev ferry built by Amur shipbuilders? When is it expected to arrive in Sakhalin?
Maxim Zhogolev, Deputy Minister of Transport of the region, answered the questions of Soviet Sakhalin:
– The reconstruction of the port in Vanino has been ongoing for several years, primarily affecting the railway infrastructure. Work in the ferry complex is carried out in the same way as in Kholmsk port – without decommissioning of ships. An increase in the mooring wall is required in Vanino. In our case, we are talking about a complete reconstruction – in particular, dredging.
Two ferry complexes are due to be put into operation next year. The process is divided into stages. The first is planned to be released closer to the summer, the second – by the end of the year. The fact is that the two complexes cannot be modernized in parallel: one is definitely needed to service the ferries.
The arrival of the “Alexander Deev” ferry in Kholmsk was expected in October, but the dates “moved”. The ship went on mooring trials. Now, according to the reports of the shipbuilding company, the aggregates and aggregates are being adjusted according to all the requested parameters. This may take several months. It is unlikely that anyone will name the exact dates of commissioning. After all, it should be borne in mind that our shipbuilders have not had the practice of building such ferries for a long time, so each process must be carried out from scratch.
There are other nuances. For example, some of the equipment is foreign-made and takes a little longer to set up. The commissioning of the second such ferry Vasily Oshchepkov, it seems to me, should become “more fun”. It’s always like this: with the lead ship, everything is more complicated and longer. The first is and the second is serial. As soon as the shipbuilders fix the bugs on the first ferry, they will transfer all their forces to the second. It will be possible to say more precisely about the time when the lead ship will pass all the tests and it will be possible to build a full-fledged schedule.
Could the approaching winter make its adjustments to ferry traffic? Winter is absolutely not terrible for new ferries, they were originally designed for year-round operation.
Nikolay PETERSKI.