Russia Completes Four-Catamaran Fleet for Saint Petersburg Gulf Sightseeing Routes

Neva Travel took delivery of Caponier on April 8, completing the four-vessel Project 04710 Sommers series that Sredne-Nevsky Shipbuilding Plant built specifically for sightseeing runs to the historic island forts of the Gulf of Finland. The handover, presided over by senior official Nabatov, closed out an order that began with keel-laying in June 2023 and stretched across nearly three years of construction at the SNSZ Saint Petersburg yard.

The four vessels, Bastion, Ravelin, Gabion, and Caponier, are all named after elements of classical European fortification architecture. It is a deliberate echo of their destinations: the island strongholds of Kronstadt, Kronshlot, and Imperator Aleksandr Pervyy. Forss Technology, the Russian marine engineering firm that designed the Project 04710 series to Russian Maritime Register of Shipping rules, embedded those operational realities into the hull from the start, giving the class its official name 'Sommers' after Sommers Island in the Gulf of Finland.

At 27.3 metres with a 7.5-metre beam and 1.8 metres of draught, Caponier and her sisters are built for the confined navigational geometry of central Saint Petersburg. The 2.5-metre hull depth and low overall profile were engineered specifically to clear the city's historic bridges, and the hull configuration generates minimal wake, a non-negotiable requirement in the canal network threading through one of Europe's most architecturally sensitive waterfronts. Each vessel accommodates 120 passengers and three crew across an enclosed, air-conditioned main deck cabin and an open-air upper deck, allowing year-round operations regardless of weather.

Propulsion comes from two 220 kW diesels through shaftlines, giving a service speed around 11 knots and a ferry range of approximately 400 nautical miles. That modest speed profile reflects the series' priorities: stability, shallow-water access, and passenger comfort over short island-fort runs, not offshore performance.

The delivery timeline shows a programme that accelerated once construction began. Bastion entered operational route service in September 2024. Ravelin followed on June 13, 2025. Gabion and Caponier were both commissioned in 2026, with Caponier's formal handover closing the series. At the ceremony, Nabatov stated: "In a record short time, we managed to make a powerful leap in updating the passenger fleet of St. Petersburg," and expressed hope that SNSZ would press ahead under both the Sommers and Kotlin programmes.

The Kotlin comparison is instructive for anyone evaluating catamaran design trade-offs. Where the Sommers boats cruise at 11 knots on 220 kW diesels, the Project 04580 Kotlin-class catamarans, also built by Sredne-Nevsky for Neva Travel under State Transport Leasing Company financing, top out at 30 knots with twin 882 kW engines, carry up to 200 passengers, and use an aluminium-magnesium alloy hull for the higher-speed Saint Petersburg–Kronstadt commuter run. Fort Kronshlot and Fort Peter I, the first two Kotlin vessels, have been on that commuter line since 2023. The Sommers design also docks at the same jetties used by Neva Travel's existing hydrofoil fleet, eliminating additional port infrastructure costs across all four hulls.

Caponier's arrival completes what is shaping up as Neva Travel's most expansive fleet year on record. Alongside the Sommers deliveries, the operator is bringing in a Project 04580 commuter vessel and a Project 04240 vessel for inner-city canal operations in 2026, four new ships across three project classes covering the full spread of Saint Petersburg's passenger waterways. With the tourist season opening, the Gulf of Finland's historic forts now have a dedicated, purpose-built fleet to get visitors there.