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Underwater Catamaran Under Development by Russia's Rubin Central Design Bureau

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Naval Industry News - Russia
 
 
 
Underwater Catamaran Under Development by Russia's Rubin Central Design Bureau
 
A fundamentally new technical facility for transporting goods under water in the Arctic is being developed by the Rubin Central Design Bureau for Marine Engineering (CDB ME) and the Advanced Research Foundation (ARF), Rubin’s Chief Designer Yevgeny Toropov told in an interview with TASS.
     
Rubin underwater catamaran submarine RussiaUnderwater catamaran project. Rubin CDB image.
     
"Such a vehicle is an underwater catamaran-type transport-erecting service complex. It will be able to load any equipment on board and deliver it under water, bypassing navigational obstacles. It will arrive in a given area, hang over the selected point and install equipment on the seabed," he said.

A preliminary design of this complex has been developed, all necessary analytics has been carried out, and its model has already been tested at the Krylov Research Center, Toropov said.

According to him, this complex will be a civilian nuclear-powered submarine, like a seismic survey submarine, which is also being developed by Rubin jointly with the ARF. "These will be two separate submarines with a different set of equipment, linked together into a single underwater vehicle, They are completely different inside, while their outer lines are repeating each other, but in inversed manner," explained the chief designer, speaking of the transport-erecting complex.

Provision is made for installing lifting equipment between the hulls. The underwater catamaran can be built within the same timeframe as a conventional submarine, except that it will not carry weapons.
     
Rubin seismic survey submarine RussiaSeismic prospector submarine project. Rubin CDB image.
     
"The technology of using a civilian submarine as a platform for a robotic system has been developed. This system will make it possible to carry out seismic survey in any point of the Arctic in the future and use it in other water areas if necessary. This preliminary design was completed and handed over to the customer," he said.

According to Toropov, these works are being carried out by the ARF and Rubin under the Socio-Economic Development Program of the Arctic Zone until 2025. "This is a civilian submarine, which projects a seismic recording platform under water from its sides- special "wings," to which seismic streamers are attached," explained the chief designer.

Sailors who previously served aboard military nuclear submarines will be able to work on such a boat as civilian specialists. "We expect the development of the seismic prospector will take 3-4 years," he added.

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Comment:
Underwater catamaran expected specifications:
Endurance - 90 days
Full displacement - 17,7 thousand tons
Maximum depth- up to 400 m

Seismic survey submarine expected specifications:
Endurance - 90 days
Maximum depth- up to 400 m
Speed - 12.6 knots
Speed in seismic survey mode - 3 knots
Full underwater displacement - 13.8 thousand tons
Length - 135.5 m
Width (stowed ruder position) - 14.4 m
Crew - 40 people