Indian Submarine Section Bound for Russia

Hindustan Cargo Limited, based in India, and Netherlands-based heavy-load carrier Rolldock Shipping loaded a 2,560-metric ton submarine section onto the semi-submersible vessel Rolldock Sun for shipment from Visakhapatnam, India to Severodvinsk, Russia this month.

The submarine section was 74.5 meters long, 12.8 meters wide and 14.7 meters high. Rolldock’s engineer arrived 25 days before loading with drawings of the dock blocks or cradles that would hold it in place on the ship. These were fabricated at a Navy dock yard near the load port and then welded into place on deck.

Ballasting and loading took place on June 21. The Rolldock Sun was submerged to 6.3 meters and Navy tugs towed the submarine into the submerged vessel with the help of two winches. Once the submarine was in place, deballasting began. Underwater cameras ensured that the submarine was in place on the cradles. After lashing and securing, the vessel was steadied. The weight of the submarine piece when loaded was 2,560 metric tons, considerably higher than the declared weight of 1,998 metric tons.

All welding and securing work was complete by June 25, when the Rolldock Sun left India for Russia via the Cape of Good Hope with a total transit time estimated to be 37 to 40 days.

Hindustan Cargo Limited is a member of the Worldwide Project Consortium. Photos courtesy WWPC.