Morwenna Mobilizes Technical Fleet to Astrakhan For Developing Large-Scale Transportation in Caspian Sea

Morwenna Shipping Company mobilized in Astrakhan four platform barges of project 03060, purchased in December 2023 on the secondary market.

Project 03060 barges have been used by the company since 2016 for international transportation of large-sized heavy cargo, and since 2022, including on the Northern Sea Route.

The barges transported wind power complexes, reactors, gas and petrochemical equipment. They have shown excellent performance due to their overall dimensions (102.3 m * 16.5 m * 4.5 m) and shallow draft (up to 1.15 m with a load of 698 tons).

The company is considering the possibility of modernizing new barges at the repair and technical base of Kranservice. “As a result of modernization, four barges of Project 03060 will be able to transport not only large and heavy cargo, but also any other general cargo and inert materials. The demand for such transportation is rapidly growing in the Caspian region with the development of the North-South transport corridor,” notes Alexander Baranov, advisor to the general director of Morwenna Shipping Company.

Morwenna finds the market for cargo transportation using platform barges to be perspective. The Shipping Company is considering placing an order for the construction of such barges at Russian shipyards. “We are seriously considering the possibility of placing an order for the construction of a series of barge fleet,” says Alexander Baranov. “Of course, it would be easier to build such vessels in Russia if there was a special state program for supporting technical vessels. But in general, a platform barge is a fairly simple type of vessel that can be designed and built in about a year. It turns out that already in the following year after investments the vessel will be able to start bringing profit”

The technical fleet of Morwenna currently includes 12 platform barges of project 03060. In total, the company owns more than 60 vessels.