This oil/chemical product tanker (Design type "Primemax") was built in the hearth of Russia, in the shipyard Okskaya Sudoverf (Oka Shipyard), in Navashino (Yard No.: 1216 / IMO No.: 9457804), a small town on the Oka River, about 5 to 6 hours car drive east of Moscow. As reported in shipping news, this ship together with her two sister vessels were ordered back in 2006 by the Italian shipping company Pietro Barbaro Group www.pietrobarbaro.com, but then the contract was cancelled. Later the contract was taken-over by the Singapore office of AET (American Eagle tankers) Tanker Holdings of Malaysia www.aet-tankers.com, a subsidiary company of MISC, Malaysian International Shipping Company. This river/sea tanker was the first ship of the three vessels ordered, originally intended for service in the Caspian Sea and was constructed under hull number 1216. Her keel was laid in October 2007, but then construction stopped and was only resumed in 2009.
The vessel was first intended to be named AET HAZAR (the name EAGLE HAZAR was also mentioned). During a naming ceremony, which took place in Navashino on 14.10.2009 with the vessel being already afloat, this name was displayed. At the begin of November 2009, just before the Volga river was closed to navigation for the winter season, the tanker was moved to Astrakhan for completion and delivery.
During the winter 2009/10, when the Volga and the northern part of the Caspian Sea are frozen-up, the tanker stayed on a lay-by berth in a shipyard in Astrakhan with very little work being performed. In the mean time the original plan to trade in the Caspian Sea under the flag of a local state were abandoned and it was decided, that the builder's had to bring her to Rostov on Don, Russia for delivery to her owners AET, Singapore*). On 01.06.2010 she was registered under the flag of the Marshall Islands (in the South Pacific) under the name AET GALA (Offcial No.: 3589, call sign: V7RW5) and was taken over by the owners, who took care about the commercial operation and ABCmaritime, Nyon, Switzerland, who acted as technical managers.
The AET GALA is a double hull product tanker for oil and chemicals and is classed for unrestricted, coastal service. She has 6 centre cargo tanks with a total volume capacity of 7,597 m3. Propulsion is by 2 four-stroke diesel engines, Cummins www.cummins.com 16 cylinders in V-configuration, with gearbox and 2 azimuthing FP-rudder/propellers. The main engines are Cummins KTA-50-M2, power output 2 x 1,193 kW at 1,800 RPM, giving about a speed of 9.0 knots.
She had a complement of 16 persons, mainly from the Ukraine and was trading in the Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea.
In early 2012 the vessel was sold together with her two sister vessels to the Russian company Rosewood Shipping LLC, Rostov on Don, Russia (Management: Rosewood Shipping LLC, Rostov on Don). On 31.05.2012 the vessel was handed-over to her buyers, renamed SANAR-3 and registered under the Russian flag with home port Taganrog (call sign: UBPI2).
*) It is not allowed for foreign flag vessels to sail on any waterway within Russia, therefore the shipyard has to bring the vessel to an international port for delivery to foreign flag owners.
SwissShips - HPS, June 2012