Project PV300 built by United Shipbuilding Corporation's Krasnoye Sormovo Shipyard (Sormovsky-Nizhny Novgorod, Russia) and recently delivered to Russia's largest cruise company Vodohod left for the maiden cruise from Moscow to Saint Petersburg, the shipbuilding company announced.
MS Mustai Karim is intended for cruise shipping on the routes Moscow-St Petersburg and Moscow-Astrakhan (passing through Ladoga and Onega lakes) as well as the Moscow-Rostov-on-Don route via the Volga-Don canal. The ship has max passenger capacity 329 (169 staterooms) plus 144 crew. The 6-deck cruise ship Mustai Karim has max speed 22,5 kph / 14 mph.
In 2020, the boat cruises from Moscow to St Petersburg (and the reverse) with a passage across Ladoga and Onega lakes and from Moscow to Rostov-on-Don visiting Russia's Golden Ring and Volga towns.
The cruise vessel is named after Mustai Karim (Mustafa Safich Karimov Bashkir / 1919-2005). He was a Soviet poet and writer from the USSR's Bashkir Republic (Russian SFSR) which is now part of the Russian Federation under the name Bashkortostan.
The ship has cabins in various categories, panoramic view bars, 2 restaurants, a wine room, a conference hall, a fitness centre with SPA facilities, a spacious open sun deck, 3 passenger lifts, shipwide Internet, satellite TV reception.
In 2017, the companies Vodohod, Krasnoye Sormovo Shipyard and Goznak-Leasing signed a 3-party contract for building and delivery of one Project PV300 unit. Under this agreement, the vessel was built by Krasnoye Sormovo Shipyard (part of USC/United Shipbuilding Corporation) and scheduled for delivery to the customer Goznak-Leasing and the consignee Vodohod on July 10, 2020 (previously for February 1). Vessel's construction started with the keel-laying ceremony on March 28, 2017. In August 2016, at Lotos Shipyard (fully-owned by USC/United Shipbuilding Corporation) in Astrakhan Russia started the construction of the sistership Pyotr Velikiy.
The PV300 shipbuilding project (management firm MNP Group) stated that these ships can be operated in waterways with waves up to 3 m (10 ft) high, which allows them to operate on Russia's largest inland waterways (rivers and large lakes, like Volga, Neva, Don, Onega, Ladoga), as well as on the Black Sea, Azov Sea, and the Caspian Sea.
Designed by Marine Engineering Bureau, the liner Mustai Karim is the second (within the PV300 project) built at Russian shipyards - following Pyotr Velikiy. With optional 5 more such units, with the PV300 ships, VODOHOD targets both Russian and foreign customers who consider river cruises in Russia among the best value-for-money travel vacation alternatives in Europe. These premium leisure ships feature modern design and implement the latest marine technologies developed for passenger ships. They also provide top-luxury hotel amenities, the highest level of comfort, and superior services (both onboard and ashore).
On August 13, 2019, the cruise liner Mustai Karim was moved out of the shipyard's building hall after all the hull works were completed. Followed the launch (float-out from drydock) on September 11. Sea trials were successfully carried out on November 15-20, conducted in Gorky Reservoir (near the town Chkalovsk, region Nizhny Novgorod).
Krasnoye Sormovo Shipyard is one of the Soviet Union's (USSR's) oldest shipbuilding factories. The yard is located in Sormovsk (city district of Nizhny Novgorod). The shipyard was founded in 1849 by the companies "Nizhny Novgorod Machine Factory" and "Volga Steam Navigation".