Soviet Union Orders Nine ACVs From Wartsila Helsinki Yard

A contract for nine air cushion vehicles (ACV) was signed in Moscow recently between V/O Sudoimport and Wartsila of Finland.

The ACVs, which represent a new line of production for the shipyard, are based on a Soviet license and on long-term product development work at Wartsila.

Deliveries are scheduled for 1982 and 1983.

The vessels are designed for cargo transfer in Arctic regions; each has a loading capacity of 38 tons. They will operate with the nine icebreaking multipurpose ships ordered earlier from Finnish yards. Six of these will be built by Wartsila and three constructed at the Valmet yard.

The Wartsila/Soviet ACV has a length of 67.9 feet, beam of 32.5 feet, and hovering height of about 2 feet. Power output is 1,936 bhp supplied by diesel engines of Soviet manufacture.

Development work for these craft was started at the Helsinki Shipyard in 1976 when the special cargo transfer problems in the Arctic were investigated. The problems include lack of harbor facilities, difficult ice conditions, and shallow coastal waters.

Wartsila will have the benefit of experience gained from an earlier order for an air cushion ferry placed a year ago by the Finnish Board of Roads and Waterways.

This unit, which is now under construction, is intended for winter traffic in the southwestern archipelago of Finland.

Inclusion in the latest contract of a license agreement with the Soviet organization Licensintorg makes it possible to pool the experience of the two parties.

Other stories from April 1981 issue

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