A keel-laying ceremony for diesel-electric icebreaker ILYA MUROMETS (project 21180) was held Thursday, 23 April at Admiralty Shipyards, a IAA PortNews correspondent reports from the scene.
The new single-deck versatile vessel is intended for icebreakering support, for deployment of naval forces in ice conditions, independent escort of ship convoys, towing support in ice and open water.
ILYA MUROMETS is the first icebreaker in Russia fitted with Azipod propulsion units housed in a submerged pod outside the ship hull and can rotate rotate 360 degrees about the vertical axis, thereby providing greater hydrodynamic and mechanical efficiency, enabling the ship to sail freely both forward, backward and sideways.
The vessel completion and delivery is scheduled for December 2017.
The Icebreaker ILYA MUROMETS of Project 21180 is a next generation vessel with new concepts of electric power and propulsion system.
General characteristics: length overall - 85 m, breadth overall - 20 m, depth - 9.2 m, draft overall - 7 m, speed - 15 knots., icebreaking capability - 1 m, endurance (fuel / stores) – 30 to 60 days, crew - 32, capacity - 500 tonnes, cargo deck area - 380 sqm, cargo hold - 500 cbm, waste oil storage tank - 300 cbm. The vessel has a helipad for Ka-32.
Admiralty Shipyards JSC (Admiralteysky Verfy) is the oldest Russian shipbuilder, founded back in 1704. The company is part of state-owned United Shipbuilding Corporation. Admiralty Shipyards specializes in the design, construction and conversion of civil vessels and warships for the Russian Navy. Currently, the Company is executing several contracts with Russian and overseas customers. Three series of submarines for Russian and foreign Navy are under construction. Salvage ship Igor Belousov (with ROV Bester-1) is undergoing sea trials. The shipyard workforce is 6,700 people.