Extended operating licence for nuclear icebreakers | Polarjournal
“Yamal” – The keel was laid in 1986 at the Baltic shipyard in Leningrad, today’s Saint Petersburg. The “Yamal” was not completed until 1992 as a result of the collapse of the Soviet Union. With a maximum output of 75,000 hp, the “Yamal” is one of the strongest icebreakers in the world. (Photo: Rosatomflot)

According to a statement from Rosatomflot, the operator of the nuclear-powered ships in the Russian Arctic, some units will be approved for another 50,000 operating hours. The current icebreakers are available until the delayed delivery of the new “Project 22220” icebreakers are put into operation.

“50 Let Pobedy” – Like all ships of the “Arktika” class, the “50 Let Pobedy” has two nuclear reactors, of which only one is operated at a time. The reactors produced an output of 75,000 hp. The icebreaker is also the first “Arktika”-class ship whose hull has the shape of a spoon. The designers hoped for a more efficient breaking of the ice, allowing the ship to operate faster in icy waters. The maximum speed is 21.4 knots (approx. 40 km/h). (Photo: Heiner Kubny)

Originally, the reactors were approved for 150,000 hours. Now, the additional six-year operation will help Russia’s icebreaker fleet ensure navigation by the Northern Seas until all five next-generation icebreakers of Project 22220 are operational.

The “Yamal” was built in the late Soviet period and commissioned in 1992 and is today, together with “50 Let Pobedy”, the only remaining Arktika-class icebreaker still in operation.

“Sevmorput” – is the last nuclear-powered cargo ship in the world. It was built from 1983 to 1988 at the Saliw shipyard in Kerch as a nuclear-powered special freighter with reinforced hull and icebreaker capabilities.

“Work in the waters of the North-East Passage is increasing from year to year. The extension of the operating licence allows us to meet our obligations,” RosatomflotDirector Mustafa Kashka said in a news update of the company. With an extended service life of the reactors, the “Yamal” follows the previously granted extensions to 200,000 hours for the icebreakers the “Taimyr” and “Vaigash”. The nuclear-powered container ship “Sevmorput” also has a longer service life.

“Arktika” is the first icebreaker of project 22220. During the test drives in February 2020, a short circuit caused severe damage to the winding of one of the three electric engines on board the icebreaker “Arktika”. The test drive was then continued with only two working engines. (Photo: Petr Kovalev)

This summer, the “Yamal” will remain in the waters north and east of the Taimyr Peninsula, while the three other nuclear-powered icebreakers from Rosatomflot, the “50 Let Pobedy”, “Taimyr” and “Vaigach”, are in Murmansk for scheduled repairs.

The first icebreaker of project 22220, called “Arktika”, is expected to travel north to Murmansk from the Baltic Sea shipyard in St. Petersburg later this year, following a number of delays and difficulties during construction and testing.

Heiner Kubny, PolarJournal

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