FSUE Atomflot has summarized the results of its winter-spring navigation season. Between December 2020 and June 2021, nuclear-powered icebreakers assisted 553 ship calls. 479 ships were escorted under the agreement between Yamal LNG OJSC and Arctic LNG 2 LLC and 74 ships on their way to the Arctic Gate terminal near the Cape Kamenny (under the agreement with Gazpromneft PJSC), the company says in a press release.
In the reported period, gross tonnage of escorted ships totaled 40.13 million tonnes (versus 31.67 million tonnes in the same period of 2019-2020 with 462 calls).
“The key highlight of the winter-spring navigation season was the operation of the lead multipurpose nuclear-powered icebreaker Arktika in the Northern Sea Route waters, - said Leonid Irlitsa, First Deputy General Director, Shipping Director of FSUE Atomflot. – The ship provided icebreaking support in open waters and along the canal in the Gulf of Ob. The icebreaker confirmed its universality. In May, the ship operated at in shallow waters near the Artic Gate terminal. Next year we are planning a test entry of the icebreaker into the Yenisei Bay.”
ROSATOM is empowered with the functions of the Northern Sea Route infrastructure operator. One of the company's priority goals is to ensure safe year-round navigation along the Northern Sea Route. Among its tasks is providing for the construction and maintenance of the state port infrastructure, making hydrographic measurements of shipping routes of the NSR area, and organizing the ship traffic.
FSUE Atomflot plays the key role in implementation of the Northern Sea Route Department project and the Comprehensive Plan for Modernization and Expansion of Core Infrastructure (CPMI) until 2035. Its key activities are icebreaking support of hydrocarbon projects in the Arctic, escorting ships in the Northern Sea Route waters and in freezing ports of the Russian Federation; providing a package of port fleet services in Sabetta, transportation of cargo by nuclear-powered container ship Sevmorput; safe handling of nuclear and radioactive materials, environmental rehabilitation of Russia’s North-West Region.