On January 24, 2013, the heavy lift vessel HHL New York delivered self-propelled barges Sosnovka-3 and Sosnovka-4 to Kamchatka. These supply boats of DCV47 design joined the fleet of State Unitary Enterprise KamchatTransFlot already operating two similar ships.
The journey of Sosnovka boats started on December 7, 2012 when they were lifted on board the HHL New York in the roads of Port Kavkaz. Sosnovka-4 was loaded into the hold on December 5, and Sosnovka-3 was put onto hatch covers on December 7. Each boat weighs 379 tons.
The first two DCV47 ships Sosnovka-1 and Sosnovka-2 have been in operation for approximately one year, ensuring delivery of socially important cargoes for the remote inhabited localities of Kamchatka Krai. The DCV47 ships are intended for transport of general, bulk and container loads on the cargo deck, wheel-mounted and caterpillar machinery by rolling, road unloading and loading of vessels, delivery of these cargoes to undeveloped shores with a potential of drying sand-gravel soils, as well as for rolling off delivered cargoes by means of a bow ramp or deck lifting crane.
Importance of having such self-propelled barges on the Kamchatka (and other North coastal regions) for supply of remote localities was realized as far back as USSR. Starting from the 70s of the last century, more than 115 self-propelled barges have been built, and only 15 similar boats remain in operation on the Kamchatka as of today. The average service life of these ships is about 30 years. Further operation of such ships is related to higher risks of safety of navigation, major expenses on maintenance and repair; moreover, they are already out of date and are not intended for operation in drying conditions (i.e. sitting on undeveloped soil at low sea).