RF Government has approved the share of advance payment for construction of two multipurpose nuclear-powered icebreakers, the third and the forth serial icebreakers of Project 22220, from 40% to 70%. The Decree is signed by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, says press center of RF Government.
According to the document, the customer, Rosatom, and the contractor, Baltiysky Zavod shipyard, are allowed to increase the scope of advance payment by mutual arrangement. That will facilitate the production and supply of expensive equipment with a with long production cycle.
The construction of the third and the fourth nuclear-powered icebreakers of Project 22220 began in 2020. The Yakutia and the Chukotka are under construction with the delivery scheduled for December 2024 and December 2026 respectively.
Key particulars of Project 22220: power — 60 MW; speed — 22 knots (in clear water); LOA – 173.3 m; beam - 34 m (33 m, DWL); height – 52 m; draft (DWL) - 10.5 m/8.65 m; minimum draft – 9.3 m, full displacement – 33,540 tonnes; maximum icebreaking capability - 2.8-meter-thick ice (at full capacity and speed of 1.5-2 knots); designated service life - 40 years, crew - 53.
The two icebreakers will cost over RUB 100 billion.
The icebreakers are to ensure year-round and regular navigation in the eastern part of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) for direct supply of products to the markets of the Asia-Pacific Region.
Three nuclear-powered icebreakers of Project 22220, Arktika Sibir and Ural, are already in operation in the Northern Sea Route waters.
The Northern Sea Route is the shortest water route between the European part of Russia and the Far East. Its length between the Kara Gate and the Provideniya Bay is about 5,600 km. The entire Northern Sea Route is within the territorial waters and the exclusive economic zone of the Russian Federation.