Jęczniak: Arctic atomic fleet

Russia is the only 1 in the planet with nuclear-powered icebreakers, their full fleet. New, stronger ones are being built, reducing the hazard of being stuck in thick winter ice creams and expanding the attractiveness of this shortest waterway between Europe and Asia.

Recently, Rosatom assured president Putin that the Northern Sea Road I wrote in MP (Jęczniak: halt by ice cream Arctic | Przemyśl Polska (myślpolska.info) will run all year circular in a fewer months. A breakthrough promise. The full project, the ship flows, the extraction of natural materials, the supply of the region would neglect without 1 key element... They're icebreakers, without which you can only usage it in the summer. And that, too, with the hazard of getting stuck in ice cream erstwhile they attack abrupt colds. Today, icebreakers supply a six-month period of openness, a full fleet of icebreakers will be needed for all year circular service. Already today, he has specified an AtomFlot, a specialized unit of Rosatom.

The most crucial of these are the unique ones in the planet that only Russia has – 7 atomic icebreakers. This fleet has had traditions since 1959, erstwhile the first specified polar ship, “Lenin”, entered service for a long time in retirement. Today, the oldest veterans are Tamyjr and Wajgacz – adapted to work in the mouths of rivers (most frequently in Jenisej), with only 8.1 metres submerged. They besides have only 1 KLT-40M atomic reactor (powers of 50,000 hp).

There are besides 2 nearly identical icebreakers of the next generation "Jamal" (1992) and "50 years of Victory" (2007). Each has 2 reactors (OK-900A), with a power of 75,000 hp. They come out of the water to the tallness of a 12-story building (38 metres), and their immersion is 11 metres. They flow at a velocity of 2 knots (3.7 km/h) on a constant ice of 2.7 metres thick.

Recently, 3 of the most fresh have joined the service: “The Arctic” (2020) and “Syberia” and “Ural” (2022) – in the photo. They are much larger (173 meters long and 34 widths), they have more powerful reactors (two RITM-200, each with a power of 36 MW), giving a working power of 81.5 1000 hp. As a result, 2 nodes scope even thicker ice (2.9 m). These icebreakers can change the depth of the immersion, which allows working in shallower mouths of rivers. The ballast water allows to reduce the immersion from a working 10,5 metre (with full weight, for operation with the thickest ice) to 9 meters erstwhile the water is pumped out.

This kind of icebreaker creates an ice-free water track width of 37 meters (for comparison – specified width could be achieved by working a full of 2 icebreakers of the erstwhile generation). The cost of building specified an icebreaker is $600 million (50 billion rubles). It's not a inexpensive toy.

After the first difficulties and cuts, they are already made by tape. After 3 fresh ones, already working, come another. The first is “Jakucia”, launched last year, will enter the Arctic service next year. The tests of specified a giant take almost 2 years to break Arctic ice for 40 years. Another under which a keel was laid in December ’20 was “Cuchkota”. After his commission next year, he will enter the ministry in ’26. The sixth and seventh lines of task 22220 ("Kamchatka" and "Sachalin") will shortly (’24 and ’25) put a keel, as always in the Persurgent Baltic Professional shipyard, building the full line of these icebreakers.

But that's enough. It's time for the biggest icebreaker ever. In July ’21, a keel was laid under the icebreaker “Rossia”, task 10510. The Leader class will be 10 metres wider than task 22220, importantly stronger, so it will swim at a velocity of 2 knots even at 4.3 meters thick ice. It will leave a much wider ice-free track behind, its way will be as wide as 50 metres. This creates a much safer shipping environment for ships.

The cost of this giant is $1.5 billion (128 billion rubles). Rosatom will supply a fresh kind of RITM-400 (120 MW) atomic reactors that cost half a billion dollars. But thanks to their strength and the size of this giant – in 2027, erstwhile the commitment of “Rossija” is planned – the average flow rate through the PDM will increase to 10-12 knots, even at 4 meters thick ice creams. This will importantly shorten the road and reduce the hazard of being stuck in thick winter ice creams, which will increase the attractiveness of this shortest waterway between Europe and Asia.

And here we come to the subject of atomic reactors on Russian icebreakers. They were the ones I wanted to compose about, which grew terribly, due to the fact that first I thought we should explain how cold it is in Russia. Then, that there's specified a large task you gotta break through these arctic ice creams, now that it's only possible thanks to icebreakers, and finally, they're icebreakers. So the next episode is about the atom. Forgive me for talking.

Andrzej Szczęsniak

photo public domain

Think Poland, No. 25-26 (18-25.06.2023)