Russian President Vladimir Putin gave the go-ahead on Wednesday for the launch of a new nuclear-powered icebreaker. The Chukotka is part of a new fleet Russia is building to boost navigation along its Northern Sea Route (NSR) in the Arctic.
The ship was launched at the Baltic Shipyard in St. Petersburg. The president gave the command to launch the vessel via video conference. “I authorize the launch!” Putin declared, after which the vessel was ceremoniously set afloat.
Chukotka is the fifth vessel (fourth serial) of Project 22220, a new Russian fleet of the world’s largest and most powerful nuclear-powered icebreakers, named after Chukotka Autonomous Region.
The Baltic Shipyard has previously produced serial icebreakers, including the Sibir, the Ural, and the lead icebreaker Arktika. Construction of the Yakutia, Leningrad, and Stalingrad vessels is currently underway.
“The development of such powerful, modern vessels is another embodiment of the industrial, scientific… and technological potential of Russia,” Putin said on Wednesday, stressing that “the entire domestic economy should develop on the basis of its own technologies and breakthrough scientific solutions.”
The 33,500-ton 173-meter-long icebreakers can plow through ice up to three meters thick. Each has two RITM-200 nuclear reactors that allows their propulsion system to produce up to 60 MW of power. The nuclear power source has a 40-year lifecycle, with refueling required around every seven years.
Moscow considers its icebreaker fleet to be of strategic importance as the ships are meant to make shipping through the Northern Sea Route more accessible for merchant vessels.
The NSR is a transport corridor in Russia’s exclusive economic zone stretching the entire length of Russia’s Arctic and Far East regions. Russia has been actively developing the route, which is expected to become a major trade route for goods shipped between Europe and Asia. The NSR could drastically reduce transportation times compared to traditional pathways through the Suez or Panama canals.
According to Putin, freight traffic via the route has been growing and is expected to hit a record high of more than 37 million tons this year. The Russian leader expressed confidence that in 2030, the throughput via the NSR will surpass 100 million tons.