On 20 December, the keel of the multipurpose nuclear-powered service ship Vladimir Vorobyov (Project 22770) was laid at the Baltic Shipyard in St. Petersburg, Russia.
The vessel will facilitate the refueling of nuclear reactors on board the Project 22220 nuclear icebreakers, and in the future, the world’s most powerful icebreaker, Rossiya. The multipurpose nuclear-powered service ship is equipped to load fresh nuclear fuel onto the icebreakers and unload and store spent fuel until it can be transported for reprocessing.
Andrey Buzinov, First Deputy CEO of United Shipbuilding Corporation; Yakov Antonov, acting CEO of Atomflot; Alexander Ryzhkov, Executive Director of Iceberg Central Design Bureau; and others attended the keel-laying ceremony.
The privilege of affixing the keel to the ship’s hull was bestowed upon Andrey Buzinov, Yakov Antonov, Alexander Ryzhkov and Alexander Konovalov. After that, Alexander Konovalov, Yakov Antonov, and Oleg Yashenkin, Director of the Nuclear-Powered Vessels branch of the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping signed the keel-laying certificate.
The long-established tradition is to christen nuclear-powered icebreakers as well as other vessels of Atomflot with geographical names along the Northern Sea Route or to give them the names of legendary Soviet nuclear-powered ships. However, when it came to the multipurpose nuclear-powered service ship, the company decided to break away from the tradition. The proposal to perpetuate the memory of Vladimir Vorobyov had been put forward by Rosatom, Baltic Shipyard, and several design institutes.
“The contributions of Vladimir Vorobyov to the development of the nuclear icebreaker fleet are inestimable,” stated Yakov Antonov. “He oversaw the construction of the lead universal nuclear icebreaker Arktika and other Project 22220 nuclear-powered icebreakers, and also was one of the designers of Project 10510 lead nuclear-powered vessel Rossiya. It is remarkable that a vessel designed to ensure the safe operation of modern nuclear icebreakers is named after the chief designer. The multipurpose nuclear-powered service ship will carry out a full range of operations to refuel the reactors on board the multipurpose nuclear icebreakers and the lead icebreaker Rossiya”.
“It is a great honor to build a ship named after Vladimir Vorobyov. He was dedicated to our plant and spent a lot of time there solving issues related to nuclear-powered ship construction. He was a true team member, committed to our common goal. We remember and love Vladimir Vorobyov. He is a great loss for us, and we consider it a great privilege to have been entrusted with the task of building the ship, ” said Alexander Konovalov, Director General of Baltic Shipyard.
The company has targeted 2029 to commission the multipurpose nuclear-powered service ship.
Reference
The Project 22770 multipurpose nuclear-powered service ship was designed by Iceberg Central Design Bureau. The ship design data: length – 158.8 meters, width – 26 meters; draft – 7.5 meters; propulsion system capacity – 9.28 megawatts (on the shafts); displacement – 22,718 tons; speed – 12 knots; ice class – Arc5. In 2023, Atomflot and Baltic Shipyard signed a contract for the construction of a multipurpose nuclear-powered service ship.
Vladimir Vorobyov (1940 – 2020), Chief Designer, Iceberg Central Design Bureau. As a deputy chief designer, he was responsible for the development of the unique design of the first-of-the-kind nuclear-powered transport vessel – lighter carrier – container ship Sevmorput of Project 10081. Vladimir Vorobyov was also the chief designer of the Volnolom floating nuclear power plant of Project 15250, which remains unique in its kind even today; as well as of a 20,000-ton deadweight tanker intended to transport petroleum products in the Arctic. The Admiralty Shipyards has already constructed a series of such vessels. Vladimir Vorobyov supervised the development of the innovative design of the 22220 multipurpose nuclear-powered icebreaker. In the Far East ongoing is the construction of the nuclear-powered icebreaker Rossiya based on the concept of Vladimir Vorobyov, a holder of the honorary titles “Distinguished Designer of the Russian Federation”, “Veteran of Nuclear Energy and Industry”, and “Honored Arctic Explorer”.
The comprehensive development of the Russian Arctic is a national strategic priority. To increase the NSR traffic is crucial for the successful fulfilment of the tasks set for goods transportation and delivery. This logistics corridor is developing due to cargo shipping on a regular basis, construction of new nuclear icebreakers and modernization of the relevant infrastructure. Rosatom is actively involved in these efforts.
