Atomflot and Nornickel may extend long-term contract for icebreaking support of Arctic project for two years after 2027
MMC Norilsk Nickel earlier told about restrictions on construction of its icebreaker in Finland
FSUE Atomflot and MMC Norilsk Nickel may extend long-term contract for icebreaking support of the company’s Arctic project for two years after 2027, Konstantin Knyazevsky, Deputy General Director of FSUE Atomflot for Fleet Construction - Head of Atomflot’s representative office in Saint-Petersburg, said at the Arctic Shipbuilding Forum.
“We are currently in talks with Norilsk Nickel on extension of the agreement,” he said.
Design capacity of Norilsk Nickel's project is 1.3 million tonnes non-ferrous and noble metals per year. Other long-term contracts of Atomflot are: Yamal LNG — escorting of tankers up to 2040 (with an option for 10 more years, 17.4 million tonnes in capacity starting from 2022), Gazprom Neft — shipment of 8.5 million tonnes of oil from Novoportovsky field up to 2025 (with an option for additional 4 years).
In January 2022, Helsinki Shipyard Oy said it would build an Arc7 icebreaker for MMC Norilsk Nickel.
Commenced in 2022, the construction is to be completed by winter season of 2025. The new icebreaker will be equipped with integrated dual-fuel diesel-electric power plant able to run on both LNG and low-sulfur diesel fuel. The vessel will have Icebreaker8 class notation of the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RMRS). It will be able to break through 2-meter thick ice. The ship’s future area of operation is the basin of the Yenisey river, the Yenisey bay and the Kara Sea to ensure the access to the port of Dudinka. Homeported in Murmansk, the icebreaker will have a task of making a channel along the Yenisey river for Arctic Expresses ships of Nornickel fleet as well as towing additionally deployed ships of Arc5 class with deadweight of up to 20,000 tonnes.
When speaking at the SPIEF, Sergey Dubovitsky, Senior Vice President of Nornickel, told IAA PortNews about restrictions faced by MMC Norilsk Nickel. According to him, the company will be able to estimate their impact on the project by September 2022.
Related links:
Norilsk Nickel to have icebreaker built by Helsinki Shipyard Oy >>>>
