Following the Arctic-Regions forum in Arkhangelsk, officials confirm a need to construct new nuclear icebreakers for the Russian fleet. Nuclear Icebreaker.
On 9 August, during the Arctic-Regions forum, the official representative of Rosatom stated that the Northern Sea Route (NSR) currently needs four more nuclear icebreakers. He explained that the purpose of the vessels would be to ensure safe navigation in the eastern part of the NSR.
"We have an absolutely comprehensible, from the navigational standpoint, western sector [of the route], the Kara Sea. But there remains a large challenge—two thousand miles from the Vilkitsky Strait to the Bering Strait. Factually, we call it 'a new way.' Why? Because a new transport model should emerge there: each vessel, when it passes the Vilkitsky Strait, if needed, will receive icebreaking support and, with the icebreaker's guidance, will go to the clear water in the Bering Strait area."
This was soon followed by a statement from the recently appointed Chairman of the Maritime Board, Nikolay Patrushev. During his visit to the base of the Russian ice fleet in the Murmansk Region, he confirmed that to meet the predicted volumes of cargo turnover for the NSR, a special role belongs to the nuclear icebreaking fleet.
Since the construction of nuclear icebreakers requires significant financial resources, there is a need for precise calculations for future turnover, he added. This is an interesting takeaway, as the target turnover is quite high, and the estimation still depends on many contributing factors. As an illustration of recent initiatives, there has been a surge of interest in river transportation and developments in Russian-Chinese trade through the NSR. This most likely means that more state-based investment will follow if the NSR's turnover steadily reaches its targets, which also calls for more certainty when it comes to navigation, supply, and additional trading partners.
Returning to the statement by the Rosatom representative, according to the company's vision, the icebreaking fleet should have 18 vessels by 2035. As of now, it consists of 14 ships. Seven of them are nuclear, with three more currently under construction: Yakutia, Chukotka, and Leningrad.
All things considered, we may expect some news about new nuclear icebreaker projects very soon. Despite the fact that Rosatom hasn't yet made an exact decision on the matter and it is still under discussion, it seems that the message was conveyed and received quite clearly.
The Editorial Board of the Arctic Century
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