At present, the nuclear icebreaker fleet includes 9 operating vessels: 4 nuclear icebreakers, 4 maintenance vessels and 1 container ship.
LENIN
This icebreaker, launched on December 5, 1957, became the first ship in the world to be equipped with a nuclear power plant. Its most important differences are the high level of autonomy and power. Already in the course of its first use, the vessel demonstrated excellent performance, thanks to which the navigation period was significantly extended.
During its first six years of operation, the nuclear icebreaker covered more than 82,000 nautical miles, navigating over 400 ships. Later "Lenin" will be the first of all ships to be north of Severnaya Zemlya.
ARCTIC
Promotional video:
THE SECOND NUCLEAR ICEBREAKER IN THE WORLD, THE FIRST SHIP TO REACH THE NORTH POLE. "ARKTIKA" WAS LOWERED INTO WATER 16 YEARS AFTER "LENIN". LENGTH OF THE VESSEL - 148 METERS, WIDTH - 30 METERS, BOARD HEIGHT MORE THAN 17 METERS. POWER PLANT POWER - 55 MW. "ARKTICA" HAS BEEN CONQUERED EVEN 5-METER ICE. CURRENTLY THE ICEBREAKER IS OUT OF SERVICE.
SIBERIA
The third nuclear-powered icebreaker "Siberia" was launched in 1978. The vessel is equipped with a satellite communication system providing navigation, telephone and fax, there is a large dining room, a library, a recreation room, a training hall, a swimming pool, and a sauna. "Siberia" reached the top of the planet on May 25, 1987 at 15 hours 59 minutes Moscow time. Currently, the icebreaker is fully prepared for disposal, which will take place after 2015.
Schematic map of a high-latitude scientific expedition aboard the nuclear-powered icebreaker Siberia.
In 2013, the Olympic flame was delivered to the North Pole on the atomic icebreaker 50 Let Pobedy.
50 years of Victory
- the world's largest nuclear icebreaker, which is capable of breaking through ice three meters thick. Until recently, this working heavyweight was used as a cruise ship and took tourists to the North Pole, but since 2015, he has again led ship caravans across the frozen seas.
The construction of one new modern icebreaker costs approximately 42 billion rubles.
NUCLEAR ICEBREAKER, "TAYMYR" DESIGNED FOR PASSING VESSELS IN THE Mouth of the Siberian Rivers
The main distinguishing feature of "Taimyr" is the reduced draft. Named after the icebreaking steamer of the same name from the early 20th century. The icebreaker was built in 1989 in Finland at the shipyard in Helsinki by order of the Soviet Union. However, the equipment and steel were Soviet-made. The power plant develops a power of 50,000 horsepower and allows the icebreaker to navigate through ice two meters thick. The icebreaker can operate at temperatures down to -50 ° C. In Helsinki, the second icebreaker of the series, Vaigach, was built a year later.
10 out of 10 nuclear icebreakers that existed in the world were Soviet or Russian - 8 of them were built in our country, and only 2 at Finnish shipyards, but according to USSR projects and for the USSR. At the same time, nuclear power units on these ships were already installed in Leningrad.
The hull of the 50 Let Pobedy icebreaker is double: the thickness of the outer hull in the part that breaks the ice reaches almost 5 cm. There are water ballast tanks between the hulls: water flows from one side to the other, as a result the ship sways and breaks the ice.
Icebreakers of the "Arctic" class can break the ice, moving not only forward but also backward. True, this requires more energy.
The ship's hull is divided into watertight compartments: even if the main ones are flooded, the ship will remain afloat.
Icebreaker "Yamal"
- differs from his fellows in the atomic fleet with a shark smile painted on his nose. It appeared when in 1994 an icebreaker took children to the North Pole as part of one of the international humanitarian programs - this made the ship look more fun. It was planned that after this trip the smile would be painted over, but in the end this decision was abandoned, and the shark's mouth became a trademark of the ship.
At first, all icebreakers of the Arctic class were painted yellow, but it turned out that it was difficult to see from the air, so the ships were repainted bright red or orange.
SIBERIA
This ship became a direct continuation of the Arktika-type nuclear installations. At the time of commissioning (1977) "Siberia" had the largest width (29.9 m) and length (147.9 m). The vessel operated a satellite communications system responsible for fax, telephone communications and navigation. Also present were a sauna, a swimming pool, a workout room, a relaxation salon, a library and a huge dining room.
The nuclear-powered icebreaker "Siberia" went down in history as the first ship that carried out year-round navigation in the direction of Murmansk-Dudinka. It also became the second unit to reach the top of the planet, entering the North Pole.
ICEBREAKING TRANSPORT SHIP WITH ATOMIC
POWER PLANT Nuclear lighter carrier "Sevmorput"
- launched in 1988, has a nuclear reactor and is capable of operating in ice up to 1 meter thick. Its task is to deliver various goods to the northern regions. "Sevmorput" transports not only containers, but also lighters - small flat-bottomed vessels that can then deliver goods along rivers and shallow waters.
Dmitry Rogozin said that already in 2017, specialists from Russia will create an updated nuclear-powered icebreaker.
“We intend to release a completely new nuclear icebreaker in two years and will not stop there, as we have already planned that in 2019 and then in 2020 there will be two more updated icebreakers. In just five years, Russia will have at its disposal three completely new nuclear-powered icebreakers"
“Our main task is to contribute to the maximum possible development of the Arctic territory, which is in the interests of the Russian Federation,” said Dmitry Rogozin.
By 2020, the Russian icebreaker fleet should be replenished with three new nuclear-powered icebreakers at once - the launch of the first of them is scheduled for the near future.
Babichev Sergey Alexandrovich