Research vessel, Hollming Shipyard 1981

Akademik Mstislav Keldyš

Hollming Shipyard built a total of nine marine research vessels for the USSR Academy of Sciences in the 1980’s. These were highly specialized vessels furnished with the most advanced high-technology equipment of the time. Each vessel was furnished and constructed for a specific purpose, such as a marine biology research vessel and one supplied with acoustic listening devices. The first research vessel was the Akademik Mstislav Keldyš in 1981.

Those who were involved in building the research vessels consider them a successful and significant achievement; new high-technology knowhow was created during the process. In the beginning, Hollming intended to acquire the necessary information technology from the USA, but the export licences were cancelled in 1979, as the global political situation grew tense after the USSR was involved in the war in Afghanistan. The shipyard had to develop the equipment, so Hollming established an electronics department of its own.