ST. PETERSBURG, October 5. /TASS/. The advanced icebreaker Ilya Muromets built for the Russian Navy has started state trials at practice ranges in the Baltic Sea, TASS reports from the Admiralty Shipyard’s wharf.
Before the launch of the state trials, the icebreaker was inspected by Russian Navy Deputy Commander-in-Chief Alexander Fedotenkov.
"The Navy has not accepted icebreakers into its structure for over 40 years already and, therefore, the construction of the Ilya Muromets icebreaker was a historic event for us. We need the icebreaker very much, considering that Russia has returned to the Arctic and combat ships constantly carry out voyages to Arctic regions. With the arrival of the icebreaker for the Northern Fleet, the grouping in Arctic regions will be self-sufficient," Fedotenkov said.
The construction of the icebreaker at the Admiralty Shipyard proceeded strictly according to schedule, he noted.
"We laid down the icebreaker in 2015 and floated it out in 2016 and now we are starting its state trials," the Russian Navy deputy commander-in-chief said.
The state trials of the Ilya Muromets icebreaker will last 27 days, the Navy’s main headquarters reported.
The trials will check all the icebreaker’s performance characteristics and systems, specifically, the operation of its radio navigation and other radio technical equipment, load-lifting mechanisms, life support systems, propulsion units and anchoring gear.
"In the first ten-day period of November, the icebreaker will perform its passage to the Northern Fleet. The Russian Navy flag will be hoisted on the icebreaker until the end of November," the Navy’s main headquarters said.
The icebreaker is under construction at the Admiralty Shipyard at the slipway that was once used to build the world’s first ever nuclear-powered icebreaker Lenin.
The Ilya Muromets will displace 6,000 tonnes. It incorporates new principles of electric propulsion and a modern power unit. The icebreaker is expected to have a crew of 32, a sea endurance of 60 days and a cruising range of 12,000 miles. The icebreaker is capable of breaking an ice field of up to 80 cm thick.