OREANDA-NEWS. In Vladivostok, the newly-upgraded training vessel Professor Khlustin, operated by Admiral G.I. Nevelskoy Maritime State University (Vladivostok), was unveiled before representatives of Russia’s maritime and academic communities. The ship’s first voyage with cadets from the Faculty of Marine Engineering is scheduled for the end of May, 2013.

 On 24 April, the Supervisory Board of Admiral G.I. Nevelskoy Maritime State University received a report from the rector with details of a successful upgrade in hardware and class made to the training vessel Professor Khlustin. This project was put forward and organised by the Russian Geographic Society and carried out with the financial support of the Federal Agency of Maritime and River Transport (Russian Ministry of Transport), OAO Sovcomflot, the Russian Geographic Society (RGS), Admiral G.I. Nevelskoy Maritime State University and OAO Sovfracht. The re-equipped and upgraded ship not only provides a maritime training base for university cadets, but also doubles as a research vessel for exploring Russia’s continental shelf in the Far Eastern seas and East Arctic, and will help implement RGS programmes in the region.

 Professor Khlustin has undergone a range of upgrades: modern navigation and communications systems have been installed, the engine room has been refitted, navigational training rooms and cadet cabins have been renovated, classrooms have been equipped with the latest multimedia hardware, equipment has been installed for modular research laboratories, etc.

 The project to upgrade Professor Khlustin with the aim of creating a scientific research base for RGS expeditions was first put forward by the organisation’s vice-president, and distinguished polar explorer, Arthur Chilingarov. This proposal was supported by RGS President Sergey Shoygu, who noted the importance of having an expeditionary vessel of this kind for research work in the northern seas and on Russia’s Arctic shelf, as well as for monitoring the impact of environmental disasters.

 “Improving the quality of our shipping is one of the main challenges facing our industry today. This challenge is impossible to tackle without training highly qualified shipboard personnel. Adding training vessels to the fleet and providing shipboard training for cadets using modern equipment is vital to achieving our goal. The project to upgrade Professor Khlustin was implemented with considerable state backing from the Ministry of Transport, the Federal Agency of Maritime and River Transport, the Russian Geographic Society and the country’s leading shipping enterprises.” – Victor Olerskiy, Deputy Minister of Transport for the Russian Federation

 “Russia has been, and still remains, a leader in the sphere of Arctic exploration and we are now witnessing the beginning of a new phase in Russia’s development of her polar resources. In recent years, the need for high-latitude scientific research expeditions has grown significantly due to the scale of exploration and development projects on the continental shelf. Expeditions of this type are vital to our country’s strategic interests. We hope Professor Khlustin will make a substantial contribution.” – Arthur Chilingarov, Doctor of Geographical Science, Professor and Vice-President of the Russian Geographic Society

 “I am confident that the upgrade to Professor Khlustin will contribute to the higher quality training of naval officers at Admiral G.I. Nevelskoy Maritime State University, some of whom will go on to work aboard Sovcomflot Group vessels in the coming years. Technical solutions in maritime transportation are steadily increasing in complexity and we are interested in the training of top quality navigators and marine engineers. It is precisely these crew members who manage the fleet that we are developing and expanding to implement large offshore oil and gas projects in Russia’s Arctic and sub-Arctic regions.” – Sergey Frank, President of OAO Sovcomflot.

 Supporting professional maritime education represents one of the pillars of OAO Sovcomflot’s social policy. As a progressive enterprise interested in moving the industry forward, SCF provides support to specialist schools and implements joint training and further education programmes for staff. The heads of Sovcomflot Group are members of supervisory boards at leading Russian maritime schools: Admiral Makarov State Maritime Academy (Saint-Petersburg), Admiral G.I. Nevelskoy Maritime State University (Vladivostok), and Admiral Ushakov State Maritime Academy (Novorossiysk).