Nuclear "Arktika"

Arktika, the lead icebreaker of the new series, 2020

Currently, the Russian industry is implementing a large and important project to upgrade the nuclear icebreaker fleetConstruction is underway on new Project 22220 Arktika icebreakers, which will replace obsolete and outdated vessels. Four new icebreakers have already been built and commissioned. The next pennant is scheduled to begin trials in 2026, and its delivery to the customer is scheduled for the end of the year.

First successes

The decision to develop and build a new series of nuclear-powered icebreakers for FSUE Atomflot was made in the 2000s, taking into account the state of the existing fleet. Development of the new project, codenamed "Arktika" and numbered "22220," was entrusted to the Iceberg Central Design Bureau (St. Petersburg). The nuclear power plant was designed by the I.I. Afrikantov Design Bureau (Nizhny Novgorod). Numerous other organizations were also involved in the design and construction.

On August 23, 2012, Atomflot, part of the state corporation Rosatom, and the Baltic Shipyard (St. Petersburg) signed a contract for the construction of the lead icebreaker of the new Project 22220. The contract value reached almost 37 billion rubles. According to initial plans, the vessel, named "Arktika," was to be delivered to the customer by the end of 2017.

Sibir and Arktika under construction, 2018

The icebreaker's keel was laid on November 5, 2013. Construction on the slipway took nearly three years, and the Arktika was launched in June 2016. However, the work overall was delayed. In mid-2017, Rosatom management reported that the construction had encountered several problems. Not all companies involved in the project were up to the task, leading to delays. Furthermore, in early 2020, one of the propulsion motors failed, hampering further work.

However, all obstacles were successfully overcome. The Arktika's acceptance certificate was signed on October 21, 2020. By the end of that year, the icebreaker began operations on the Northern Sea Route. It complemented the existing vessels of its class and improved the icebreaker fleet's overall capabilities for escorting merchant vessels.

Icebreakers in series

At the end of May 2014, a second contract for the construction of new icebreakers was awarded. This time, the Baltic Shipyard was commissioned to build two vessels at a total cost of 84,4 billion rubles. The icebreakers were scheduled to enter service in the early 2020s.

The keel of the first production icebreaker was laid in May 2015; the vessel was named "Sibir." The first phase of construction took just over two years, and the icebreaker was launched in September 2017. At that time, its delivery was scheduled for mid-2020. However, unforeseen difficulties arose again, forcing a revision of the work schedule. Ultimately, Atomflot accepted the new vessel at the end of 2021.

Icebreaker Ural, November 2022

In July 2016, the third icebreaker in the series, the Ural, was laid down. In May 2019, the Baltic Shipyard launched the vessel and transported it to the outfitting quay. Fitting out and testing were expected to take approximately two years, but they too were delayed. The acceptance certificate was signed in November 2022.

In August 2019, another contract for new icebreakers was awarded. Atomflot ordered two Pennants for a total of 100 billion rubles. Construction preparations began shortly thereafter.

In accordance with the new contract, the icebreaker Yakutia was laid down in May 2020. By this time, all the technologies and manufacturing nuances had been perfected, allowing construction on the slipway to take only two and a half years. The icebreaker was launched in November 2022. Then, approximately two years were spent on completion, testing, and other procedures. In accordance with the original schedule, Yakutia was delivered to Atomflot in December 2024.

Continuation of construction

At the launch of Project 22220, it was planned to build five new icebreakers to replace the existing pennants. However, later, after construction of the first icebreakers had begun, it was decided to expand the series to seven units. This number of vessels will not only maintain but also improve the capabilities and potential of the icebreaker fleet.

Installation of a nuclear reactor in the hull of the future vessel Yakutia, August 2022.

In accordance with these plans, construction of three new icebreakers is currently underway. Work is at various stages and progressing well. Results are expected in the coming years.

Thus, the fifth icebreaker in the series, Chukotka, was laid down in December 2020. Like Yakutia, it is being built in accordance with a 2019 order. It was launched in early November 2024. According to available information, fitting-out afloat is currently being completed, and the vessel will begin sea trials in the coming months. It is scheduled to be delivered to the customer at the end of this year.

In 2021, the construction of two more icebreakers was announced. A corresponding contract was awarded shortly thereafter. Due to a number of significant factors, the total cost of these vessels reached almost 118 billion rubles, with 58,9 billion allocated by the state.

In January 2024, the keel-laying ceremony for the sixth icebreaker was held at the Baltic Shipyard. This vessel, named "Leningrad," is currently on the slipway. Launching and completion are scheduled for 2026. Subsequent work will take approximately two years, and the customer will receive the vessel by the end of 2028.

Arktika at the North Pole, October 2020

Finally, on November 18, 2025, construction of the icebreaker "Stalingrad" began. It is scheduled to be launched in 2028. Delivery to the customer is expected by the end of 2030. This will likely complete the Arktika series of icebreakers.

Obvious progress

Thus, to date, the domestic industry has built and delivered four new-type icebreakers to the customer, is preparing a fifth for trials, and is building two more. Almost 13 years have passed since construction began on the new series of vessels, and its completion will require approximately four more years.

Following the current construction, the existing nuclear icebreaker fleet will be completely renewed. According to current plans, the older icebreakers will remain in service until the mid-1930s. By that time, Atomflot will receive all the ordered pennants for the new Project 22220 and fully commission them.

This fleet renewal has several obvious positive consequences. First and foremost, these are related to the new technology. Modernly built vessels boast improved technical, operational, and service characteristics. They are easier to operate than their predecessors and also offer other advantages relevant to real-world applications.


Furthermore, the Arktika-class icebreakers are new. They haven't yet exhausted their service life, allowing them to remain in service for decades to come. The issue of equipment obsolescence, which arose in the past, will no longer be relevant for a long time.

It's worth noting that Russian industry is successfully building highly complex nuclear-powered vessels and overcoming all challenges. Unfortunately, the first orders fell behind schedule due to a lack of experience and foreign sanctions. However, these challenges were subsequently overcome, and new icebreakers are now being built and delivered to customers on schedule.

Given the work and achievements of recent years, there is now no doubt that the Baltic Shipyard and its associated companies will complete construction of the planned series of icebreakers. Furthermore, it is expected that the remaining vessels will be delivered to Atomflot on schedule and without delays or other problems.

Comments

[Vladimir_2U]

This is a pleasant read, although it is not a particularly detailed article, more typical of the news.

[Wildcat]

At the launch of Project 22220, it was planned to build five new icebreakers to replace the existing pennants. However, later, after construction of the first icebreakers had begun, it was decided to expand the series to seven units. This number of vessels will not only maintain but also improve the capabilities and potential of the icebreaker fleet.

What for?

[Dedok]

What for?

exactly, why so many similar ones?
What about the situation at the "mouth of the Ob" when they couldn't get the "truck" through to load?
The answer is apparently simple: there are no other projects, and we need to report on our activities every year...

[Tests]

Dear Grandpa (Sergey), what "truck" are you talking about? What ice class? Are you talking about the Buran and its attempt to reach the Arctic LNG-2 berth in November 2025?

[solar]

At that time, there were plans to actively use the Northern Route as an alternative route for cargo transportation from East to West. Experience showed the impracticability of these plans, and the war in 2022 finally put an end to them. But the icebreakers had already been laid down, so construction continued.

[Nastia makarova]

Actually, the future belongs to the Northern Sea Route.

[Andrei from Chelyabinsk]

Quote: Nastia Makarova

Actually, the future belongs to the Northern Sea Route.

In fact, these economically unfounded fantasies are already 50 years old.

[Nastia makarova]

Why then does Russia pour such huge amounts of money into it?

[Andrei from Chelyabinsk]

Because it's important for Russia—supplying our northern cities is easier and cheaper via the NSR. But no one else needs the NSR, and there are objective reasons for that—it's expensive and complicated.

[Alexey RA]

Quote: Wildcat

What for?

LNG. Ice-class tankers cannot navigate the North on their own.
Moreover, as experience has shown, ALEDs are needed not only in the North, but also in the Gulf of Finland. In 2011, the Vaygach operated there, and in 2012, even the 50 Let Pobedy and Rossiya had to be deployed.

[Grancer81]

What about "everything is lost"? What about "the entire industry was destroyed?"
Where are our doomsayers?

[Victor Leningradets]

Here I am, Vladislav!
First of all, during the Soviet era, nuclear icebreakers were built in Leningrad, some of which are still in service.
There are two buckets of tar missing from this barrel of honey. One of them is mine.
The entire 22220 project is a story of the triumph of the Soviet economic system over the imported capitalist one. The "difficulties" encountered along the way for the lead and first production icebreaker are briefly mentioned, but no mention is made of the corruption scandals and financial problems of the Baltic Shipyard at the time.
According to the plan of Sobchak and his loyal henchmen, all industry was to be liquidated, workers and engineers abolished as a class (applied science would follow suit), and glittering St. Petersburg was to become a pan-European city, a cultural capital, and, most ironically, a financial capital. And, of course, tourism was to be developed. For this reason, from 1992 to 1996, St. Petersburg's science and industry suffered a complete and utter devastation. It's scary to imagine what would have happened if the people of St. Petersburg hadn't kicked Sobchak and his team out of power in 1996. Nevertheless, the damage inflicted on industry, particularly in shipbuilding and mechanical engineering, remains, since recovery, according to the authorities, was to be achieved through "attracting foreign investment" (I'd like to see a fool of an investor!).
As a result, the IMF-mandated nuclear icebreaker construction project went bankrupt at its earliest stages, and Atomflot, under the auspices of Rosatom, was forced to essentially revive the industry in St. Petersburg.
As a result, Project 22220 represents a compromise between Soviet old-school and Asian high-tech. This particularly applies to the use of traditional propellers and rudders instead of AZIPOD-type azimuth thrusters.
Nevertheless, construction resumed after a series of corruption scandals, and today, under Rosatom's leadership, the industry has, as they say, regained its momentum. However, the negative trends in our shipbuilding industry have not been fully overcome, and the urgent project to create a powerful world-class shipbuilding cluster is moving along a "one step forward, two steps back" pattern.
But the fact that the sixth and seventh icebreakers under construction have been named after the first hero cities, "Leningrad" and "Stalingrad," is symbolic. This inspires hope that the crisis in our industrial development will be overcome.

[Grancer81]

In my city, ZSMK, NKAZ, and KZF are still in business. But KMK has been liquidated, leaving only two workshops. But... It was taken from MIKOM in the late 90s by order of Mr. (not Mr.) Tuleyev and given to EVRAZ.
So we're not all lost yet...

[Victor Leningradets]

Greetings Novokuznetsk!
From 2018 to 2020, I worked on the city's heat supply plan. I visited your facilities. No, your city isn't depressed; it has a future.

[Grancer81]

Let's hope so. The truth is, our environmental situation is...very bad. And then there's coal, our wealth and our misfortune.
Greetings from St. Petersburg! I haven't been there since last century. My coworkers keep inviting me over, but I just can't get around to it.

[Andrei from Chelyabinsk]

Come, it's gotten better here in terms of climate, which, with all the other advantages of St. Petersburg, was... Who am I telling you, there were - you know

[Tests]

Viktor Leningradets (Viktor), sir, you wrote wonderfully about the most democratic of the most effective mayors in Russian history! However, by nightfall, you failed to mention the most highly educated senator in Russia, with a broad and deep understanding of shipbuilding – French citizen Sergei Pugachev. The magpies are chattering that Pugachev was one of those who actively destroyed the Russian tax police, claiming that Russian police got to his accounts with the help of their colleagues in Europe. But those are just liars! A senator in Russia can't break the law, Rauf Arashukov wouldn't let you lie... The USC was assembled in a very specific way across Russia, excluding many absolutely essential factories and institutes from its orbit, and its Charter was adopted in a very rough shape. Plus, long-standing connections in Finland—wives, children, and grandchildren traveled wherever needed and placed orders, including for Project 22220 icebreakers, after the import substitution command. It wasn't for nothing that shipbuilding centers were invented in Russia... The understanding that marine electrical installation is a highly specialized field has finally dawned on the bright minds at USC. Let's hope the SPO Arktika branch network across the country gets off the ground. However, something urgently needs to be done about pricing and loans for companies.

[Victor Leningradets]

Thank you, of course. If we emerge from this man-made crisis, then there will be enough work for the Arctic.

[Andrei from Chelyabinsk]

Quote: Victor Leningradets

However, the negative trends in our shipbuilding industry have not been completely overcome.

How tactful you are:)))))

[Victor Leningradets]

Good evening, Andrew!
It's a double-edged sword. To avoid ruining the whole, one often has to sacrifice a part. To a certain extent, building ships under the financial idiocy imposed by our narrow-minded government through its agents of influence is already a feat. The Ministry of Industry and Trade has come to the realization that, no matter what, we need FUNCTIONING enterprises and design institutes. Only a vibrant industry can be reformed and modernized. But there's still plenty of servility to certain Kremlin wishes (which ultimately become directives), the sabotage of those waiting for their foreign masters hasn't been suppressed, and a strong layer of pushy, incompetent managers remains. But the trends, especially over the past year, are positive.

[Andrei from Chelyabinsk]

Quote: Victor Leningradets

But the trends, especially over the last year, are positive.

God grant it, in good time! At least somewhere...
I'm happy for the industry. But I understand there are problems there... Especially with government contracts... But
"Here are the king, my wife,
May she be green
But there is a prospect,
"I don't have a fucking mother-in-law!"
If something is improving, that's great! I'll raise a glass of beer to that right now.

[Non-fighter]

Well, here's a positive example of what I've written about many times. If someone needs a fleet, they'll build it; if not... They'll periodically revive it, but mostly it'll rot in port.

[Phoenix Point]

Great stuff. Three years and they're operational! There are some quirks, but the main thing is the goal! Three years until commissioning! And there are no "sanctions," just a trade war. Let's look at the facts.

[Vlad Gor]

Looking ahead, 50 years from now, we need to build super icebreakers with an 85-meter channel, a speed in ice of 3 meters, and 15 knots. Such an icebreaker design was considered in the Soviet Union in 1955. The decision to build the first nuclear-powered icebreaker was made by the USSR Council of Ministers on November 20, 1953. The nuclear-powered icebreaker Lenin was handed over to the USSR Ministry of the Navy on December 3, 1959. Today, the Northern Sea Route is the only safe sea route linking western and eastern Russia.

[lazy]

and this is good and this is good