On March 11, the crew of the Ural nuclear icebreaker (Project 22220, Atomflot’s vessel) completed the task of making an ice channel in the southern waters of the Gulf of Ob in the Kara Sea. This was the first time the vessel approached Kamenny Cape. The shallowest depth in these waters is 10.2 meters.
The channeling began at the northern tip of the fast ice near the Sabetta-2 port on March 10 and ended near Kamenny Cape. The nuclear vessel covered a distance of 170 nautical miles at an average speed of 6.7 knots.
“This operation once again demonstrated the extraordinary performances of Project 22220 versatile nuclear icebreakers,” said Yakov Antonov, Acting Director General of Atomflot. “Tankers can only go through a practically straight channel without any deviations or sharp turns. Thanks to the powerful icebreaker and the skilled crew, the task was completed in just one day. In contrast, a nuclear icebreaker of the Taimyr type would have taken approximately two days to make such a channel.”
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The Northern Sea Route is the shortest shipping route connecting Western Eurasia with the Asia-Pacific region. The NSR administratively begins at the junction of the Barents and Kara Seas (the Kara Gate Strait) and ends at the Bering Strait (Cape Dezhnev), spanning a distance of approximately 5,600 kilometers. The route traverses the seas of the Arctic Ocean, including the Kara, Laptev, East Siberian, and Chukchi Seas. The NSR provides services to the ports of the Arctic and of major Siberian rivers. Currently, the NSR includes six key seaports in the Russian Arctic: Sabetta, Dikson, Dudinka, Khatanga, Tiksi, and Pevek.
Atomflot is a specialized company of Rosatom. Its main mission includes icebreaking support for Arctic projects; icebreaking assistance to vessels on the Northern Sea Route (the NSR) and their escorting to Russian freezing ports; a set of port fleet services at the port of Sabetta; icebreaking assistance to scientific expeditions in the Arctic; general and specialized maintenance and repair; as well as safe management of nuclear material and radioactive waste. The nuclear icebreaker fleet consists of nuclear vessels, including the Arktika, Sibir, Ural, Yamal and 50 Let Pobedy (50 Years of Victory) among others, which are equipped with nuclear power plants of various powers. Additionally, there are nuclear service vessels such as Imandra, Lotta, Serebryanka and Rossita, as well as the Portoflot project vessels.
The universal nuclear icebreakers of Project 22220 are 34 meters wide (for comparison, the nuclear icebreakers of the Taimyr type are 29.2 m wide). During their operation, these icebreakers appeared capable of making not only wider but also cleaner channels. Their hulls make channels with smooth edges without breaks or sharp corners.
In 2018, the Russian Government appointed Rosatom the Northern Sea Route infrastructure operator. Rosatom is responsible for overseeing the federal project “Development of the Northern Sea Route” also being involved in the plan for the development of the Northern Sea Route until 2035 and the initiative for the socio-economic development of the Russian Federation until 2030 “Year-Round Northern Sea Route” approved by the order of the Russian Government.
The comprehensive development of the Russian Arctic is a national strategic priority. To increase the NSR traffic is crucial for the success of the outstanding tasks. This logistics corridor is being developed due to cargo shipping organized on a regular basis, construction of new nuclear icebreakers and modernization of the relevant infrastructure. Rosatom companies are actively involved in these efforts.
