RF Government adjusted the commissioning parameters of the Arktika
The Arktika, lead nuclear-powered icebreaker of Project 22220, will be put into operation with a propeller shaft power of up to 50 MW. According to the official website of the Russian Government, the document signed by Mikhail Mishustin on 16 October 2020 (Decree No 1695) introduces amendments into the Decree dated 29 June 2012 (No 660).
This decision will let start using the icebreaker in the Northern Sea Route waters from December 2020. In 2021, the Arktika will be equipped with a new electric propulsion motor on the starboard side to raise the ship capacity to 60 MW.
According to the statement, two more nuclear-powered icebreakers of Project 22220 will be put into operation in the nearest years.
“Their deployment will strengthen Russia’s leadership in the Arctic and will facilitate further development of the Northern Sea Route as a crucial transport corridor”, reads the document.
The ceremonial delivery of the lead icebreaker to FSUE Atomflot and the hoisting of the Russian Federation flag onboard the ship is scheduled for 21 October 2020.
The Arktika completed the transition from Saint-Petersburg to its homeport Murmansk on 12 October 2020.
The lead icebreaker of Project 22220, the Arktika, ordered by State Corporation “Rosatom” was laid down at Baltiysky Zavod shipyard on 5 November 2013 and launched on 16 June 2016. Project 22220 ships will be the world’s largest and most powerful nuclear-powered icebreakers (60MW). The vessels’ dual-draft concept allows for operating them both in the Arctic and in the mouths of the polar rivers.
The icebreakers designed by CDB Iceberg in 2009 will be operated in the western region of the Arctic: in the Barents, Pechora and Kara Seas, as well as in shallower areas of the Yenisei estuary and the Ob Bay area.
General characteristics of 22220 Project vessels: capacity - 60 MW, operational speed - 22 knots (clean water), length - 173.3 m (160 m, DWL), beam - 34 m (33 m, DWL), depth - 15.2 m; draft (DWL) - 10.5 m; minimum draft - 8.65 m, maximum icebreaking capability - 2.9-meter-thick ice (at full capacity and speed of 1.5-2 knots); full displacement – 33,540 tonnes; designated service life - 40 years, crew - 53.
Nuclear-powered icebreakers of Project 22220 are equipped with two RITM-200 reactors of 175 MW. Project 22220 ships will be the world’s largest and most powerful nuclear-powered icebreakers (60MW).
RITM-200 is a two-reactor plant developed by Afrikantov OKBM specially for the icebreaking fleet. Its design features energy-efficient integrated layout, which enables the placement of the main equipment directly inside the steam generating unit's casing.
Arktika is named after the legendary nuclear-powered icebreaker, the first surface ship that reached the North Pole.
On 26 May 2020, Baltiysky Zavod shipyard (a company of United Shipbuilding Corporation) held a ceremony of keel-laying for the third serial icebreaker of Project 22220 (the forth one including the lead ship). The 60-MW ship named Yakutia will be operated by FSUE Atomflot (State Corporation “Rosatom”) in the Arctic.
A total of five icebreakers of 22220 design are to be built under Rosatom’s concept for the development of its icebreaking fleet.
The document in Russian is available here >>>>
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