Newest Russian icebreaker ready to hit the ice

October 1, 2020, 6:58AMANS Nuclear Cafe

The Russian nuclear-powered icebreaker Arktika. Photo: Rosatom

The Arktika, Russia’s latest nuclear-powered icebreaker, sailed from the Baltic Shipyard in St. Petersburg last week, bound for the Murmansk seaport. The voyage is scheduled to take approximately two weeks, during which time the vessel will be tested “in ice conditions,” according to Rosatom, Russia’s state-owned atomic energy corporation.

Billed by Rosatom as “the largest and most powerful nuclear icebreaker in the world,” the Arktika houses two RITM-200 reactors and a steam turbine unit with an overall power capacity of 175 megawatts.

Norway’s Bellona Foundation has more details on the ship, and its somewhat troubled history, here.


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