Universal "Ural" and the breakthrough "Leader": how is the update of the icebreaking fleet of Russia?

The nuclear icebreaker of the project 22220 (type LK-60Ya) “Ural” will be commissioned in August 2022, the press service of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation said. On May 25, a ceremonial launch of this ship took place at the Baltic Shipyard in St. Petersburg. The icebreaker will be operated by FSUE Atomflot, which is part of the state corporation Rosatom.

In a welcoming telegram to the participants in the ceremony, the first deputy head of the presidential administration of the Russian Federation, the chairman of the supervisory board of Rosatom, Sergei Kiriyenko, called the “Ural” an icebreaker of a new generation. According to him, the construction of ships of the project 22220 will allow Russia to successfully develop the Arctic.

“There is no doubt that the serial construction of new-generation icebreakers is the key to successful development of the Arctic zone and the implementation of global Arctic projects. The atomic icebreaking fleet is paving the way for caravans of ships along the Northern Sea Route. And let it be the basis of our country's economic prosperity, ”Kiriyenko said.

According to Denis Manturov, Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, the “localization level” of domestic equipment on project 22220 ships is almost 90%. It was achieved thanks to the success of previously launched import substitution programs.

To replace the Soviet generation

The implementation of project 22220 is aimed at the planned renewal of the nuclear icebreaking fleet of the Russian Federation and ensuring year-round navigation in the Arctic. In total, five ships of this class will be built. In 2020, the first two icebreakers, the Arctic and Siberia, should be commissioned. For the remaining vessels is expected to sign contracts.

"Arctic", "Siberia" and "Ural" are being built at the expense of budget funds. However, the money for two future nuclear-powered ships will be allocated according to a “mixed” scheme: 50% of the required amount will come from the state budget, and the other half will be “drawn from the market” and obtained from Rosatom resources.

“The fourth and fifth nuclear-powered LK-60s are estimated at a total of about 100 billion rubles, and the grant from the budget will be only 45 billion. Another 9 billion is the investment resource of the state corporation, and the rest of the money will be attracted from the market under the provision of Rosatom,” Vyacheslav Ruksha, Deputy Director General of Rosatom, said in an interview with RIA Novosti in April 2019.

According to him, "this is the first serious project of this level with mixed financing."

The new icebreakers will replace the Soviet generation of vessels of projects 10520 and 10580. Today, Russia uses four nuclear-powered ships: Yamal, 50 Years of Victory, Taimyr and Vaigach. Ships will be decommissioned in stages, depending on the timing of the commissioning of new ships. “50 years of Victory” will last the longest. According to current plans, the icebreaker will be decommissioned in 2038.

The ships of the project 22220 surpass in the characteristics of their predecessors. The power of their nuclear power plant RITM 200 developed by OKBM. I.I. Afrikantov (Nizhny Novgorod) is 60 MW (versus 55 MW for Soviet-built vessels). But the main advantage of the new atomic-powered ships is the automation of control systems. Modern equipment made it possible to halve the crew size by up to 75 people.

Another feature of the nuclear project 22220 is the variable draft (10.5 m / 8.55 m). It allows them to walk in deep water and in shallow water. This quality is considered very important, since icebreakers regularly enter the mouths of Siberian rivers.

The displacement of ships of the project 22220 is 33 thousand tons, length - 173 m, width - 34 m, height - 15.2 m, autonomy - about 6 months. Atomic-powered ships are capable of breaking ice about 3 meters thick.

Rosatom plans to put into operation five ships of project 22220 until the mid-2030s. The icebreakers will provide wiring for tankers with liquefied natural gas (LNG) and oil products from the Kara Sea shelf, Yamal and Gydan peninsulas. Hydrocarbons will be mainly exported to countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

Icebreakers "Leader"

At the same time, the icebreakers of project 10510 “Leader” (type LK-120Ya) will be able to provide year-round navigation in the eastern direction of the NSR. This was announced in April 2019 at the “Arctic - Territory of Dialogue” forum by the Chairman of the Board of Novatek PJSC Leonid Mikhelson. Rosatom plans to build three such ships by 2035.

These unique vessels will be assembled at the Far Eastern shipyard Zvezda (Bolshoy Kamen) in cooperation with the Baltic Shipyard. The cost of one icebreaker United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) estimates at 70 billion rubles.

"Leaders" will provide the necessary "commercial speed" of tankers, which is 10-12 knots (18-22 km / h) in conditions of two-meter ice cover. According to the developer, Iceberg Central Design Bureau (St. Petersburg), the maximum ice thickness that the ship of the project 10510 is capable of breaking is 4.3 m.

In the course of movement, the Leader can create a channel 52 meters wide. It allows you to safely carry tankers and gas carriers carrying cargo weighing over 100 thousand tons. A high speed should be ensured by a nuclear power plant with a capacity of up to 120 MW (twice as much as on ships of the project 22220).

The brainchild of Iceberg Central Design Bureau will become the most powerful and largest icebreaker in the world. The displacement of the Leader will be 71.2 thousand tons, length - 209 m, width - 47.7 m, draft - 13 m, autonomy - eight months.

"Challenge" Russia

Experts interviewed by RT noted that the renewal of the atomic icebreaking fleet is the key to the successful development of the Northern Sea Route and the Russian economy as a whole. The commissioning of new ships will make it possible to multiply the volume of traffic on the NSR. At the end of 2018, it amounted to 18 million tons. In 2024, when three nuclear-powered ships of the 22,200 project are commissioned, this figure should reach 80 million tons.

“The icebreaker“ Ural ”is more powerful than the previous vessels from the“ Arctic ”series of the first generation. Since this ship has larger dimensions, the channels for piloting ships are wider. This is a two-pack icebreaker that can solve wiring tasks both in the ocean and in river estuaries - this is its versatility, ”said RT Boyar, honorary polar explorer of Russia, candidate of physical and mathematical sciences, RT.

According to him, the project 22200 icebreakers will provide the planned replacement of Soviet ships, and the Leader will be a breakthrough project.

“Thanks to him, Russia will practically not depend on the weather in the eastern sector of the Arctic, where there are heavier ice. If the “Leaders” are built, then the western branch of the NSR will be serviced mainly by ships of project 22220, ”Boyarsky said.

The expert drew attention to the fact that Washington is constantly blaming the Russian Federation because of the allegedly "aggressive" behavior in the Arctic. For example, in May 2019, US National Security Adviser to the President John Bolton urged graduates of the United States Coast Guard Academy to "challenge" Russian influence in the Arctic. The Russian Foreign Ministry called the accusations of an American official "absurd."

“These attacks are caused by the fact that the Americans do not have an atomic icebreaking fleet. They cannot compete with Russia on an equal footing and carry out transport operations in this strategically important region. Also, Washington is clearly not satisfied with the success of Russia in the development of the SMP as arteries for the export of hydrocarbons to Asia and Western states, ”said Boyarsky.

The director of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute Ivan Frolov adheres to a similar point of view. According to him, the United States is trying to find a way to counter the plans of the Russian Federation to ensure year-round navigation on the Northern Sea Route.

“The renewal of the nuclear fleet at the expense of the newest ships is a daunting task for modern Russia. It must be fulfilled in order to ensure national security and to realize the economic interests of our country. The Americans understand this perfectly and bite their elbows, because at one time they underestimated the strategic importance of the Arctic and the potential of Russia, ”Frolov emphasized.