Nuclear-powered container ship Sevmorput finalized the 2023 shipping season's short-sea voyages on the NSR
The LASH Sevmorput called at the Port of St. Petersburg yeasterday after a voyage from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.
The lighter aboard ship (LASH) Sevmorput with icebreaking capabilities and the KLT-40 nuclear-powered propulsion owned by Atomflot (part of Rosatom Corp.) has completed the program of the 3rd subsidized coastal voyage along the Northern Sea Route (NSR) in 2023. The container ship called at the Port of St. Petersburg on December 5 after her round trip with port rotation: St. Petersburg - Port Vostochny - Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky - St. Petersburg. The ship owner Atomflot says once the unloading of Sevmorput is completed, the vessel will bound for its home port of Murmansk.
The voyages were carried out within the Development of the Northern Sea Route federal program, which is part of the Comprehensive Plan for Modernization and Expansion of Main Infrastructure (CPMI) for a period through 2024.
PortNews has earlier reported that during the first subsidized voyage this year, the Sevmorput called at Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky this July. The second round trip was performed by M/V Severniy Proect that sailed on expanded route with the following rotation Arkhangelsk - Pevek - Vladivostok - Magadan - Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky - Pevek – Arkhangelsk, and arrived in Kamchatka on September 5.
The Sevmorput on the 3rd eastbound voyage delivered from the European part of Russia a broad range of export and general cargo including equipment, cranes, machinery, cement. On the way back from the Far East the vessel was to deliver almost ninety FEUs with fish and general cargo.
The program for subsidizing Arctic coastwise transportation between the ports of St. Petersburg and Murmansk and the marine terminals of the Far East region was launched in 2022. There were two round trips from the ports last year. The Russian government in line with its plan to promote shipping on the Northern Sea Route will allocate more than 7.8 billion rubles to subsidize transportation for the period until 2035.
The nuclear-powered container ship “Sevmorput” (named after the Northern Sea Route) was built at Kerch based Zaliv Shipyard in 1988. The Sevmorput is intended for transportation of cargo to the remote northern areas. The ship can break through continuous field ice of up to 1 meter thick at a speed of about two knots and carry some 36,000 tonnes of cargo. With its hull design and strength the ship can operate in the Arctic basin independently or escorted by an icebreaker in more challenging ice conditions.
