Russia’s Arctic to need 8 nuclear-powered icebreakers by 2030

By 2030, Russia’s Arctic will need 8 nuclear-powered icebreakers, Vyacheslav Ruksha, Deputy Director General of Rosatom, Director of the Northern Sea Route Directorate, said at the 4th International Congress “Hydraulic Engineering Structures and Dredging” held by PortNews Media Group in Moscow on 10-11 March 2021.

According to the speaker, five icebreakers are to operate in the western part of the Northern Sea Route, three – in the eastern part.

Rosatom expects the NSR cargo traffic to reach 110 million tonnes by 2030 including 70 million tonnes to be carried westwards, 40 million tonnes - eastwards.

There is a task to ensure year-round navigation on the eastern route. With the construction of the NOVATEK’s LNG terminal in the Bechevinskaya Bay (the Kamchatka Territory) all-season eastward navigation is to begin in 2025.

Another task is to launch new high-latitude routes for large ships.

When speaking about the development of the icebreaking fleet, Vyacheslav Ruksha reminded about the rector life extension on nuclear-powered icebreakers (Yamal, Taimyr, Vaigach), delivery of the lead LK-60 icebreaker Arktika, construction of four LK-60 icebreakers under the contract between FSIE Atomflot and Baltiysky Zavod shipyard (Sibir, Ural, Yakutia and Chukotka). Besides, Zvezda shipyard in the Primorsky Territory has commenced the construction of the120-MW Leader-class icebreaker.

Among the key goals is to build up and upgrade the fleet of FSUE Hydrographic Company engaged in the surveying works on the Northern Sea Route. The year of 2021 is to see the construction of four new vessels for Hydrographic Company: Aleksandr Parfyonov, Vsevolod Peresypkin, Yury Babayev and Yury Osokin. Besides, the lead ship of Arc7class is to be built by 2025. Apart from construction of new ships, there is a plan to conduct deep modernization of the existing vessels, Grygory Mikheyev (by mid-2022), Peotr Kotsov (by mid-2023) and Aleksey Maryshev (by mid-2024).