In the 2010s, the Russian Navy ordered project 23470 sea tugs. The vessels are being built at the Yaroslavl Shipyard. The tugs have an Arc4 ice class, which allows them to operate in freezing seas.
The construction of project 23470 tugs is carried out according to a project developed by JSC "CDB "Baltsudoproekt". Initially, the vessels were built using foreign components, but then the projects were redesigned for domestic components, which led to delays in delivery.
On Friday, August 8, the tugboat "Captain Ushakov" of this project in the port of St. Petersburg at some point began to list to starboard, which flooded the auxiliary machinery room. All night, the plant workers and rescuers tried to level the vessel, but on Saturday, August 9, it became known that the tugboat had sunk.
The Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case under the article on violation of safety rules during construction work. It is specified that there were no casualties as a result of the incident. Preliminary damage is estimated at over 1 million rubles.
The United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) and the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation have not yet commented on the situation with "Captain Ushakov".
What is the purpose of the project 23470 tugboat:
Multipurpose vessels are mainly designed to remove ships from the ground, but they also have other important functions:
- Performing marine towing
- Piloting vessels in port waters and berthing
- Firefighting on floating and coastal facilities
- Escort operations in the open sea and in ice
Several project 23470 tugs have already joined the Russian Navy and are in service. In particular, the tugs "Sergey Balk" and "Captain Nayden" are listed in the Black Sea Fleet, they were put into operation in 2018 and 2022, respectively. "Andrey Stepanov" entered the disposal of the Pacific Fleet in 2020.
Characteristics of project 23470:
- Greatest length — 69.75 m
- Greatest width — 15 m
- Greatest draft — 5.2 m
- Displacement — 3200 t
- Carrying capacity — 200 t
- Autonomy in terms of food supplies — 30 days
- Cruising range (at a speed of 14 knots) — 3000 miles
- Bollard pull — 80 t
Yaroslavl plant did not deliver the tugboat "Captain Sergeev" on time
In February 2025, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation demanded through the court that YaSZ pay compensation for the two-year delay in the transfer of the fourth tugboat of this project, "Captain Sergeev". The damage was estimated at 1.5 billion rubles. As of August 2025, information on the transfer of the vessel to the military department has not yet been received.