Russian patrol ship Volga

Volga in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in 2007
History
→ Soviet Union → Russia
Name	Volga (Волга)
Namesake	Volga River
Operator	Soviet Border Troops (1980–1992) Coast Guard of the Border Service of the FSB (1992–present)
Builder	Admiralty Shipyard (Leningrad, USSR)
Yard number	02656
Laid down	27 February 1979
Launched	19 April 1980
Completed	26 December 1980
In service	1980–present
Homeport	Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky
Identification	IMO number: 8640246
Status	In service
General characteristics
Class and type	Ivan Susanin-class patrol ship
Displacement	3,710 t (3,650 long tons) (full load)
Length	70 m (230 ft)
Beam	18.1 m (59 ft)
Draught	6.5 m (21 ft)
Installed power	3 × 13D100 (3 × 1,800 hp)
Propulsion	Diesel–electric; two shafts (2 × 2,400 hp)
Speed	15.4 knots (28.5 km/h; 17.7 mph)
Range	10,700 nautical miles (19,800 km; 12,300 mi) at 12.5 knots (23.2 km/h; 14.4 mph)
Endurance	50 days
Complement	10 officers 113 crew
Sensors and processing systems	MR-302 Rubka ("Strut Curve") surface and air-search radar MR-105 Turel ("Hawk Screech") fire-control radar
Armament	1 × twin 76 mm AK-726 2 × 30 mm AK-630
Aviation facilities	Helideck for Kamov Ka-25 or Ka-27

Volga (Russian: Волга) is a Soviet and later Russian icebreaking patrol ship in service with the Coast Guard of the Border Service of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation. It is one of eight Project 97P patrol ships built by Admiralty Shipyard in Leningrad in 1973–1981.

Description

Main articles: Dobrynya Nikitich-class icebreaker and Ivan Susanin-class patrol ship

In the mid-1950s, the Soviet Union began developing a new diesel-electric icebreaker design based on the 1942-built steam-powered icebreaker Eisbär to meet the needs of both civilian and naval operators. Built in various configurations until the early 1980s, the Project 97 icebreakers and their derivatives became the largest and longest-running class of icebreakers and icebreaking vessels built in the world.

The patrol ship variant, Project 97P (Russian: 97П), was developed as a response to the renewed interest of the Soviet Navy and Soviet Border Troops on icebreaking patrol vessels after United States Coast Guard and Canadian Coast Guard icebreakers began appearing more frequently near the country's northern maritime borders. New icebreaking patrol vessels were needed because existing Soviet naval vessels could not operate in ice-covered waters and large icebreakers, in addition to being unarmed and operated by civilians, could not be distracted from their primary mission of escorting merchant ships.

Project 97P patrol ships are 70 metres (230 ft) long overall and have a beam of 18.1 metres (59 ft). Fully laden, the vessels draw 6.5 metres (21.3 ft) of water and have a displacement of 3,710 tonnes (3,650 long tons). Their three 1,800-horsepower (1,300 kW) 10-cylinder 13D100 two-stroke opposed-piston diesel engines are coupled to generators that power electric propulsion motors driving two propellers in the stern. In addition to being slightly bigger than the icebreakers they are based on, Project 97P lacks the bow propeller and features a bigger deckhouse built of aluminum-magnesium alloy to reduce weight as well as a helideck capable of receiving Kamov Ka-25 or Ka-27 helicopters.

All Project 97P patrol ships were initially armed with a twin 76 mm AK-726 deck gun and two 30 mm AK-630 close-in weapon systems, but the ships operated by the navy were later disarmed.

History

Volga photographed en route to San Francisco to take part in the United States Coast Guard's 200th anniversary celebration.

The seventh of eight Project 97P patrol ships was laid down at Admiralty Shipyard in Leningrad on 27 February 1979, launched on 19 April 1980, and delivered on 26 December 1980. The ship was named after the Volga River and, after sailing to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in the Russian Far East via the Northern Sea Route, joined the maritime unit of the KGB Border Troops.

In May 1990, Volga became the first Soviet vessel to visit the West Coast of the United States since the Second World War when it visited San Francisco during the bicentennial celebrations of the United States Coast Guard.

In 2003, Volga participated in Russian-American naval exercises.

Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Volga was passed over to the Coast Guard of the Border Service of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation. The vessel remains in service as of 2024.