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Brand-New Russian Navy Tug Sinks at St. Petersburg Shipyard Before Entering Service
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![Photo of Ivan Khomenko]( "Photo of Ivan Khomenko")
A newly built Russian Navy tugboat, Kapitan Ushakov (Project 23470), sank on August 9 near the pier of the Baltic Shipyard in St. Petersburg during final outfitting works, according to Russian media outlet Fontanka.
The incident occurred in the evening of August 8 when the vessel developed a list to starboard. Emergency services and shipyard personnel attempted to stabilize the tug throughout the night but were unable to prevent it from capsizing. By morning, the vessel had settled on the bottom alongside the pier.
The Baltic Shipyard’s press office stated that the pier was leased by the Yaroslavl Shipbuilding Plant, which was responsible for completing the tug.
According to the Russian Investigative Committee’s regional transport division, the flooding began in the auxiliary machinery compartment, causing the list that led to the sinking. Investigators are conducting a pre-investigation check under an article related to violations of construction safety regulations.
The Kapitan Ushakov was laid down in 2017 at the Yaroslavl Shipbuilding Plant and launched in June 2022. In late 2023, it was transferred via inland waterways to St. Petersburg for completion, with plans to enter service with the Northern Fleet’s 566th support ship detachment based in Murmansk. The tug was expected to be operational by the end of 2024.
Project 23470 ocean-going tugboats are designed for towing ships, floating objects, and offshore structures in any navigation area, including ice conditions up to Arc4 class.
They can perform search-and-rescue missions, firefighting, and have a helipad. The class has a displacement of 3,200 tons, length of 69.75 meters, beam of 15 meters, a crew of 33, and endurance of 30 days.
Four other vessels of this class have been launched since 2014, with three already in service—two in the Black Sea Fleet and one in the Pacific Fleet.
Earlier, a magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, shaking the Rybachiy submarine base in Vilyuchinsk — one of the country’s largest nuclear naval facilities and home to multiple ballistic missile and attack submarines of the Pacific Fleet.
