The icebreaker will spend winter-spring navigation in the Arctic
On November 14, the Arktika, lead nuclear-powered icebreaker of Project 22220, left the port of Murmansk for its first working voyage, says press center of FSUE Atomflot.
The ship is heading for the Kara Sea. The Arktika will operate in the water area of the Northern Sea Route till mid-December.
According to Leonid Irlits, Atomflot Director for Shipping, the icebreaker is ready to escort ships along the entire Northern Sea Route. The first voyage will take three weeks.
“Intense process of ice formation is underway in the Arctic. We already have an opportunity to ‘test-drive’ the icebreaker which is a common practice after a ship is put into operation”, he explained.
Upon completion of the voyage, the Arktika will call the port of Murmansk for replenishment of its stores and will return to the NSR waters in the end of December. The icebreaker will spend winter-spring navigation in the Arctic.
The ceremony of signing the acceptance/delivery certificate for the lead nuclear-powered icebreaker of Project 22220, the Arktika, was held on 21 October 2020, in Murmansk. The document was signed by Aleksey Kadilov, General Director of Baltiysky Zavod JSC, and Mustafa Kashka, General Director of FSUE Atomflot.
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.
Arktika is named after the legendary nuclear-powered icebreaker, the first surface ship that reached the North Pole.
Under the contract with FSUE Rosatomflot, Baltiysky Zavod shipyard is building three LK-60 60MW icebreakers of Project 22220 (Arktika, Sibir, Ural). 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.
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