On 21 June 2013, Kherson Shipyard had a celebratory floating out of the RST27 design tanker SVL UNITY, the third vessel in a series of tankers commissioned by SVL Group (Malta). The total contract price amounts to more than USD 50 million.

The ship is designed for the sea and combined-type ('river-sea') transportation of crude oil and oil products, including petrol, with no flash point limitations and with the option of simultaneous transportation of two cargo varieties.

'Kherson Shipyard is currently the only company in Ukraine building the RST27 design complete tankers that are in high demand these days. Early performance of the contract allows us counting on further cooperation with SVL and securing new customers in the near future,' said Oleg Fedak, the General Director of KhSY.

Artemiy Osipyan, the co-owner of SVL, pointed out high quality of all the three vessels. He said that the first tanker had passed the sea trials successfully and had been put into operation. The second vessel is being prepared for the sea trials to take place presently. Mr. Osipyan expressed his gratitude to the shipyard's team for high professionalism they showed in constructing all the vessels of the series.

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KhSY and SVL (Malta) signed a contract for the construction of three complete 'river-sea' tankers in 2011. The lead ship of RST27 project SVL LIBERTY was handed over to the customer on 22 March 2013. The second ship in a series was 96.2% completed as of early June 2013. The sea trials of the tanker will start in late June. The contract performance is intended to be completed in 2013.

The project was designed by the Marine Engineering Bureau (MEB, Odessa). The vessel's overall length is 140.85 m, its width being 16.86 m, and its hull height 6 m. The total holding capacity of six cargo tanks and two slop tanks is 8,100 cubic meters, the sea deadweight is 6,980 tonnes with the water-draught of 4.20 m, the river deadweight is 5,378 tonnes with the water-draught of 3.60 m; the vessel's operational speed is 10 knots.

Special requirements of oil companies have been taken into account in the design of the tanker, as well as additional environmental limitations of the respective ECO Project (ECO-S) class of the Russian Marine Register of Shipping. The tankers match the dimensions of the Volga-Don Ship Canal and the Volga-Baltic Waterway. They are also fully compliant with the new international requirements and ensure the cargo temperature of 60 °С maintained at all times during transportation.

Kherson Shipyard is part of Smart Maritime Group, the shipbuilding business of Smart-Holding. The shipyard was founded in 1951. Within recent 7 years, the shipyard built and handed over to its customers 38 vessels, including the drilling rig supply vessels – anchor handling vessels and refrigerated cargo ships, river tankers, railroad ferry-boats, complete Chelsea-type dry cargo carriers, etc.

Currently, two vessels are being built, three vessels undergo upgrade and sixteen ships are being repaired by the yard.