One of the nuclear-powered icebreakers assisting oil tankers will get containerized oil spill response equipment
The Northern Sea Route Development Plan until 2035 foresees additional equipment of icebreakers run by FSUE Atomflot (a company of Rosatom) with the accident rescue and medical facilities. The deadline is set at 2024. The equipment is foreseen for one of the nuclear-powered icebreakers assisting oil tankers in the busiest part of the Northern Sea Route. The containerized equipment will include oil collecting systems, inflatable and sorbent boom systems, boom-laying boat and a diving system, said Vladimir Panov, Special Representative for the Development of the Arctic, Rosatom.
According to him, six nuclear-powered icebreakers will get medical equipment.
Vladimir Panov spoke at the plenary session ‘Main challenges and new threats to security in the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation’ held in the framework of Safe Arctic 2023. The event was kicked off by EMERCOM Minister Alexander Kurenkov on 6 April.
“The crews of Rosatomflot’s nuclear-powered icebreakers have Northern Sea Route waters, said Leonid Irlitsa, Acting Director General of FSUE Atomflot. - Safety is a priority for us. There is no room for error in the sea. The crews of nuclear-powered icebreakers practice the planned actions in emergency situations. We highly appreciate the interaction with the Ministry of Emergency Situations and welcome the attention to security issues in the Arctic.”
According to the press center of the Arctic Council Russia’s Chairmanship, the interagency experimental research exercises of the forces and means of the Unified State System of Prevention and Response to Emergencies in the Arctic Zone (Safe Arctic 2023) took place on 6–7 April in nine regions of Russia.
The participants practiced mitigating the consequences of different simulated incidents in the Far North. More than 20 federal executive bodies, two state corporations, ten business entities, as well as representatives of nine African, Latin American, and Eurasian countries participated in the pilot exercises.
The group from the Unified State System of Prevention and Response to Emergencies included more than 3,500 specialists and 650 units of equipment during the exercises. Over two days of practical training, the rescuers completed 110 experimental research tasks, and also undertook practical actions to provide assistance from the air, on water, underground, and on land. Representatives of 16 foreign states, including Saudi Arabia, Serbia, and Iran, observed the actions of the Russian rescuers. Representatives of more than 20 federal executive bodies, ten businesses, and two state corporations took part in the experimental research exercises.