MOSCOW, August 7 (RIA Novosti) - The next-generation nuclear-powered Russian icebreakers scheduled to be put into operation in 2017-2021 were named “Arctic,” “Siberia” and “Ural,” Rosatomflot Director General Vyacheslav Ruksha said Thursday.
“We need to put the first LK-60Ya model universal nuclear icebreaker into operation no later than the end of 2017. The second icebreaker is expected to arrive from the shipyard in late 2019-early 2020, and the third one – late 2020-early 2021. These icebreakers named ‘Arctic,’ ‘Siberia’ and ‘Ural’ are able to navigate through ice up to almost three meters thick,” Ruksha told RIA Novosti.
The first LK-60 nuclear icebreaker, the largest of its kind, is being constructed at the Baltiysky Zavod shipyard. The contract is valued at 37 billion rubles (over $1 bln).
Rosatomflot is a subsidiary of Russian state corporation Rosatom dedicated to nuclear-powered marine vessels. Among the main duties performed by Rosatomflot are piloting and towing vessels to increase navigation speeds, transporting cargo safety out of ports near Russia’s Arctic coastline, conducting rescue operations on ice and carrying out research programs.
