Baltiysky Zavod Shipbuilding starts 60 MW icebreaker construction
ST. PETERSBURG. Nov 5 (Interfax) - LLC Baltiysky Zavod Shipbuilding (St. Petersburg) on Tuesday launched the construction of a 60 MW Project 22220 nuclear icebreaker, an order from Atomflot, Russia's company and service base that maintains the world's only fleet of nuclear-powered icebreakers, an Interfax correspondent reported from the launch ceremony.
The icebreaker was developed by the Aisberg central design bureau in 2009. It is 173.3 meters long and 34 meters wide. The design draft is 10.5 meters,. The minimal working draft is 8.55 meters and water displacement is 33,540 tonnes.
The double-draft design makes the ship applicable in Arctic waters and in polar rivers.
The icebreaker is to sail in the Barents, Pechora and Kara seas, and in shallower parts of the Yenisei River and in the mouth of the Ob River.
Reports said earlier that the contract to build the first of the three Project 22220 icebreakers was signed in August 2012. It is estimated at 37 billion rubles. The icebreaker is to be commissioned in November 2015.
LLC Baltiysky Zavod Shipbuilding is the successor to the bankrupt Baltiysky Zavod . The shipyard is currently working on a number of major orders, including the construction of the Akademik Lomonosov floating nuclear power plant, the 60 MW Project 22220 nuclear icebreaker and the stern section of the Mistral helicopter carrier.
Atomflot, which is part of the nuclear energy corporation Rosatom, has five icebreakers.
