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[Pieter Inpyn]

Hello,

yard Kherson built four artic supply vessels for Russian firms:
Ivan Papanin, 1990, #6001, still sailing as such
Aleksander Sledzuk, 1992 #6002, now ICE MAIDEN I (recently towed away for demolision?)
Snow Dragon, 1993, #6003, now Chinese XUE LONG
unknown, 2003 ? #6004, now at Mexico for reconstruction into offshore-vessel

Did #6003 en #6004 also have a Russian (intended) name?
What is the present name of #6004 and IMO?
Any help much appreciated! Searching internet and many paper reference works did not give me the answers.

Regards, Pieter Inpyn.

[Tuomas Romu]

Holy necropost, Batman!

I've been trying to gather information about the two series of Arctic cargo/supply vessels built at Kherson Shipyard in Ukraine, and managed to compile the following list (as of September 2018):

Project	Yard number	Year	Original name	IMO number	Current/last name	Status
10620	5001	1986	VITUS BERING	8624383	DEEPWATER I	Broken up (2003)
10620	5002	1987	ALEKSEY CHIRIKOV	8624395	CABALLO AZTECA	Total loss (2017-18)
10620	5003	1987	VLADIMIR ARSENIEV	8624400	NEVIS PEARL	Broken up (2016)
10620	5004	1988	VASILIY GOLOVNIN	8723426		In service
10620	5005	1989	STEPAN KRASHENINNIKOV	8730443	DP POLAR	Broken up (2013)
10621	6001	1990	IVAN PAPANIN	8837928		Broken up (2018)
10621	6002	1991	ALEKSANDR SLEDZUK	9056894	ICE MAIDEN I	Broken up (2013)
10621	6003	1993	XUE LONG	8877899		In service
10621	6004	(n/a)	(n/a)	9056909		Laid up

edit (2016): #6004 is in fact a project 10621 ship which remains unfinished in Mexico. Photographs under the IMO number listed above were posted to ShipSpotting.com this year.

Thus, we have managed to track down all project 10620/10621 vessels.

[Phil English]

Hello Peter & Tuomas

Hull 6002 / Ice Maiden 1 is correct. She is presently a stripped-down hull after a project to convert her to an offshore accommodation vessel failed. For several years now, she remains berthed in the River Tyne, U.K., and has not yet been towed away or scrapped.

http://www.portoftyneonline.co.uk/harbour/ships_on_berth.asp

Brgds
Phil

[Tuomas Romu]

Thanks for the correction, Phil. It's quite strange that she hasn't been cut up for scrap - what else can you do with a hull like that? The company that was working on the conversion already re-sold the thrusters and DP systems.

[Phil English]

Hi Tuomas,

I imagine she will be scrapped eventually. She's not gone yet, probably because there is a lot of legal wrangling going on regarding the failure of the project to convert her. Such legal processes can take years!

Brgds
Phil

[Tuomas Romu]

Yeah, that's true. There are quite many ships abandoned in ports due to legal issues, slowly rusting away. Recently, a 60s tanker that had been moored at an Iranian oil terminal since the Iran-Iraq war in 1980 was towed to Gadani for scrapping. They even used it as a backdrop for a movie "Iron Island"!

I wonder why the IMO numbers of the second series of ships don't match to their order of construction. It's as if Xue Long was built considerably earlier than Ice Maiden 1, although the years indicate otherwise.

[Pieter Inpyn]

My remark about the existence of #6004 is coming from this website:

http://uglyships.wordpress.com/2010/07/31/ice-maiden-i-sisters/

[Tuomas Romu]

One can also find the mysterious #6004 from the shipyard website:

http://kherson-shipyard.com/en/html/18.html

However, I'm quite sure it's a mistake. The design bureau only lists three Project 10621 vessels:

http://www.chsp.mksat.net/english/ref_list.php

Still, that does not explain the Project 10621 ship pictured on the Uglyships website.

[Allan RO]

Hi Guys

Seems simple to me, the one pictured in Mexico (the mythical 6004 ??) don't thnk so ! More likely to be Caballo Azteca (5002) being converted to an oceanographic research vessel.

Allan

[Tuomas Romu]

That's what I thought, based on the new accommodation block in the foreground. However, CABALLO AZTECA is a Project 10620 vessel while the ship photographed in Mexico is clearly a Project 10621 vessel. They are quite easy to tell apart from the superstructure and the length of the forecastle.

I dropped a message to both the design bureau and the shipyard about the mysterious fourth Project 10621 vessel. Let's see what (if) they reply.

edit (2016): Never received any reply. However, check my earlier message for an update regarding #6004.

[davidships]

Following received from "AntonioGtz" by email to Shipspotting:

++++++++
Evening Gents, Hull6004 is in Mexico since last 2009, it was towed awai from Ukraine and waiting for a conversion project. was never completed at Kherson, TM was carried out and believe me, thickness still thck close to the original. and many other systems and equipment remains like brand new, catched up in the time. On 2009-2010 I did contact with the designer, Chernomorsurdoproject I barely remember the firm name... anyone knows the name and address? Thanks.

++++++++

[Tuomas Romu]

Following received from "AntonioGtz" by email to Shipspotting:

That's interesting information - thank you for sharing.

[Tuomas Romu]

Looks like Ivan Papanin has bit the dust after the incident in Antarctica earlier this year; she's at Chittagong anchorage and listed for "scrapping":

http://cpa.portal.gov.bd/sites/default/files/files/cpa.portal.gov.bd/common_document/a1196d2c_2ad4_410b_97a4_732c62a76600/VESSEL%20-%2029-08-18.pdf

https://www.fleetmon.com/maritime-news/2018/21417/russian-scientific-ship-breached-antarctic-confusi/

The list in my previous post has been updated.

[Tuomas Romu]

Xue Long (#6003) recently hit an iceberg near Antarctica:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6WfX5AJAlE

Anyone know what Caballo Azteca is doing in these days? IHS Sea-web lists her as "total loss".

[Tuomas Romu]

I'm answering to myself to keep the information in a single thread.

Caballo Azteca drifted ashore in 2017 after dragging anchor and not having diesel for the generators. This was apparently a common occurrence for Oceanografia ships - five were stranded or flat out sank in 2016-2018.

In 2018, there was a fire that pretty much gutted the vessel. Since then, the ship has slowly been broken up and earlier this year it was towed to a nearby port without permission, supposedly to complete the scrapping:

You can find photographs with Google by searching for "barco Caballo Azteca"; here is one that seems to be quite recent, showing how some parts have already been removed:



I guess it's safe to say this Project 10620 ship won't be returning to service anymore...

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