A steel cutting ceremony has been held at Nordic Yards' Warnemünde shipyard in Germany, symbolizing the start of construction of the superstructure for the Russian diesel icebreaker LK-25, the shipbuilding company said.
In August, St. Petersburg Russia based Baltic Shipyard (member of United Shipbuilding Corporation) and the German shipbuilding holding Nordic Yards signed an agreement for the turn-key contract for construction and outfitting of the 2,500-tonne superstructure of LK-25 icebreaker of Project 22600.
A ceremonial keel laying for the Viktor Chernomyrdin was held on October 10, 2012 at Baltic Shipyard in St. Petersburg. The newbuilding contract is valued at nearly EUR 200 million. The vessel is scheduled for delivery to Rosmorport for December 2015.
The icebreaking vessel will be powered by 25MW diesel-electric engines. This will enable the icebreaker to break the 2-m-thick ice and escort merchant shps to the ports and on the Northern Sea Route. The vessel was designed for multipurpose tasks including salvage operations in harsh environment of the Arctic and to assist scientific expeditions.
Wismar, Germany based Nordic Yards is one of the world's leading manufacturers of technologically sophisticated and innovative special ships with a strategic focus on the field of Arctic shipping. As a technological leader in high-tech shipbuilding, the shipyard group concentrates on special ships such as ice-breaking and ice-going ships, special tankers, ferries and offshore projects. The independent subsidiary companies Nordic Yards Wismar GmbH and Nordic Yards Warnemünde GmbH also belong to Nordic Yards. Both shipyards have direct access to the Baltic. The shipbuilding companies are some of the most modern, efficient and largest shipbuilders in the world.
Nordic Yards have built more than 100 breakers and ice-class vessels, mainly for the Russian market. In 2011 MMC Norilsk Nickel tookd delivery of an Arctic tanker ship. In 2012, the shipyard was awarded orders from Russian Transport Ministry for two rescue ice-class vessels. The two vessels' keels were laid in 2013 at Wismar shipyard.