The only shipyard able to build nuclear-powered icebreaker Leader is Baltiysky Zavod, says Aleksei Kadilov, Director General of Baltiysky Zavod-Sudostroeniye (Saint-Petersburg). According to him, only Baltiysky Zavod has the competence required for such a project. It has the experience in construction of nuclear-powered surface ships and their modernization.
120 MW icebreaker of Project 10510 designed by Krylov State Research Center in cooperation CDB Iceberg is intended for round-the-year servicing of large capacity vessels (of over 100,000 t in deadweight and over 50 m in length) along the entire Northern Sea Route. Economically efficient speed of about 10 knots is to be available in 2-meter thick ice. All the materials and major equipment required for construction of the icebreaker can be supplied by domestic companies. The design ensures unification of major and auxiliary equipment with that of the multi-purpose nuclear-powered icebreaker Arktika of Project 22220 which is under construction today.
The conceptual design of the Leader-class icebreaker will be completed this year. In order to put the ship into operation in 2024, the development of the detailed design should be commenced in 2016 and take 3 years.
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