Early last month, the Vietnamese military asked Russian diplomats for information about the price of the rescue ship and its equipment; India has also expressed an interest.
The 21300C is constructed at the Almaz Central Marine Design Bureau in St. Petersburg, which has so far provided one of the ships to the Russian Navy, named "Igor Belousov" in honor of the outstanding shipbuilding engineer.
Igor Belousov has a water displacement of 5,000 metric tons, and is 100 meters long and 17 meters wide. The ship's speed can reach 15 knots (28 km/h), it can travel up to 3,500 nautical miles without refueling, and carries a crew of 100 sailors.
The ship's primary purpose is search and rescue, and it boasts advanced equipment for finding ships and submarines in distress, as well as hydrographic equipment for studying the physical features of oceans and coastal areas.
The Igor Belousov search and rescue ship during sea trials.
The head constructor of the 21300C Dolphin, Alexander Forst, told Sputnik that years of experience enabled the Almaz shipyard to produce the sought-after ship.
"In the 1960s the Soviet search and rescue fleet was recognized as the best in the world. It is true that these traditions became a little lost, but the rich traditions accumulated over decades and sea rescue experiences are embodied in this ship," Forst said.
The ship can carry out a full range of rescue operations, and is fitted with radar, sonar and aerial technology, enabling it to find missing accident victims, navigational instruments and communications.
"The third distinguishing feature is the single power system. Two power plants (comprised of six diesel generators) are located in different compartments, but they work as one power plant, automatically providing complete reliability," Forst explained.
The 21300C is also equipped with the "Bester" standalone deepwater rescue apparatus, which is capable of diving to a depth of 720 meters and docking with a distressed submarine, even at an angle of 45 degrees. During one dive, the unit is capable of saving up to 22 people.
"Then, the device floats to the surface. Incidentally, Dolphin also has all the necessary equipment to provide medical care, including surgery," Forst said.
The Russian navy's Igor Belousov arrived in the port of Vladivostok on September 4. On the way, the ship called at ports in Europe, North Africa and Asia, including India and Vietnam, where its capabilities earned the admiration of the local navy.
"The results of the exercise confirmed the complete compliance of the ship' design characteristics with the requirements for the vessel. A training dive with the Bester apparatus was carried out, which brought some "injured" sailors to the surface, transferred them to a decompression station and imitated decompression. It was proven that according to a range of criteria, Dolphin is superior to all foreign analogues," Forst concluded.
