The Far Eastern plant Zvezda has begun construction of the lead atomic icebreaker of project 10510 Leader. This was reported on the official website of Rosneft, which is a co-owner of the refinery. The first flagship of this project was named "Russia".

“The ship will become the most powerful nuclear ship in the history of world shipbuilding. This is a technically complex project that has no analogues in the world. Its key task is to ensure year-round pilotage of the commercial fleet along the Northern Sea Route. The Leader project will become the basis of the new generation Russian icebreaking fleet, ”the company’s website said in a statement.

It is reported that the contract for the construction of the flagship nuclear icebreaker was signed by Zvezda and FSUE Atomflot on April 23, 2020. The state customer is Rosatom Corporation. Construction should be completed in 2027. According to the Leader project, it is planned to build three nuclear icebreakers, the last of which will be transferred to the customer before the end of 2033.

The icebreaker was developed by the Iceberg Central Design Bureau. The length of the vessel will be 210 m, width - 47 m, draft - 13 m, displacement - almost 70 thousand tons.

The nuclear-powered icebreaker will be equipped with two RITM-400 reactors, four turbines and four rowing electric motors. The total capacity of power plants of the icebreaker will be 120 MW, which will allow the vessel to overcome ice more than 4 m thick at a speed of 2 knots. With an ice thickness of 2 m, the speed of the icebreaker will be up to 12 knots, Rosneft reported. 

The nuclear-powered icebreaker will lay a canal in ice up to 50 m wide, which will open up the possibility of navigation for large-capacity transport vessels in arctic latitudes.

The start of work on the construction of the flagship icebreaker "Leader" can only be regarded in a positive way, said Dmitry Litovkin, editor of the Independent Military Review, in an interview with RT.

“This is very good news. Russia is expanding its icebreaking fleet and thus more and more develops the Northern Sea Route and the Arctic Ocean, which is rich in minerals. There are oil and gas deposits there, ”the expert noted.

Today, Russia is the only country in the world that has a large and powerful icebreaker fleet, military expert Yuri Knutov recalled in a conversation with RT.

“Russia is constantly improving the structure of its icebreaking fleet, now it is moving to a new generation of icebreakers. This is a technological breakthrough, since these ships will be more versatile in terms of piloting other vessels and will allow vessels of large tonnage to pass through, ”the expert said.

Strategically important path

The main task of the flagship nuclear submarine of the project 10510 "Leader" will be to ensure year-round navigation of the Northern Sea Route and expeditions to the Arctic.

The Northern Sea Route is a transport artery that runs along the Arctic coast of the Russian Federation. Currently, the NSR administration provides navigation in the water area from Cape Dezhnev in the east to the Novaya Zemlya archipelago in the west. The property fund of the Northern Sea Route is managed by the Rosatom Corporation, and the Ministry of Transport performs legal regulation and oversight functions. 

  • Leading nuclear-powered icebreaker of project 10510 "Leader"
  • © Central Design Bureau “Iceberg”

Russian Deputy Minister for Development of the Far East and the Arctic, Alexander Krutikov, speaking on December 6, 2019 at the Arctic: Present and Future forum, said that by 2035 the volume of traffic along the Northern Sea Route will reach 160 million tons. For comparison, in 2018 this the indicator was at around 19.7 million tons.

Russia's long-term plans are to adapt the Northern Sea Route to international transit. The country's government approved a plan for the development of the infrastructure of this major waterway until 2035.

In addition to the construction of three nuclear powered vessels of the Leader project, the development plan also provides for the creation of nuclear icebreakers of Yakutia project 22220 (three such nuclear powered ships are currently under construction) and other specialized ice-class vessels - tankers and gas carriers. 

Recall that in 2019, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the country's Arctic fleet by 2035 will have at least 13 heavy icebreakers, nine of which will be nuclear. It is worth emphasizing that today Russia is the only country in the world operating nuclear icebreakers.

Viktor Litovkin noted that the adopted program for the development of the NSR and the existing icebreaking fleet, as well as the construction of new nuclear powered ships, provide Russia with a serious advantage in the development of the Arctic.

“No one in the world has nuclear icebreakers, only Russia. They are already working on the Northern Sea Route and the construction of new ones creates the basis for strengthening our position in the region. In addition, we are also building other ice-class vessels, including gas carriers that transport our gas along the Northern Sea Route, tankers and ice-class passenger vessels. We have a large extensive and effective program for the development of the Northern Sea Route, ”the expert noted.

Arctic security

In a conversation with RT, Viktor Litovkin recalled that the SPM is the shortest sea route from Asia to Europe, which cannot be overcome without icebreakers.

“With such a powerful icebreaker fleet, which will become even more powerful, Russia will be able to play a fundamental role in conducting commercial vessels along this route. It will be a kind of Panama Canal for the North. In addition, it is also an important zone for the security of Russia, ”the expert emphasized.

Recall that in 2018, Admiral Paul Zukunft, who served as commander of the U.S. Coast Guard, said that the Northern Sea Route should be a transport artery open to the entire world community. Then he replied that such a US position would inevitably run into Russia’s rejection, and would require "substantial dialogue in the future."

  • Russian icebreaker in the Arctic
  • RIA News
  • © Pavel Lvov

Victor Litovkin noted that the development of the Arctic and the Northern Sea Route is a strategic task to ensure the security of Russia. 

“As you know, the Arctic is the shortest path for American missiles into the depths of Russia. Here, in order to prevent ships with Tomahawk missiles from appearing there, we will place military garrisons there in addition to those that already exist. This is necessary in order to ensure the protection of the Northern Sea Route, ”added Litovkin.

The construction of the new Leader icebreakers is the basis for the security of the Russian Arctic in the future, concludes Yuri Knutov.

“This decision to build such nuclear-powered icebreakers demonstrates that Russia is thinking about tomorrow, and understands that a pretty serious fight will soon flare up for this path. The USA and NATO countries became interested in the Arctic, in particular, the Northern Sea Route, which in the near future will become profitable in terms of ship passage, ”the expert noted.