MOSCOW, October 6. /TASS/. Russia’s advanced icebreaker Ilya Muromets, which is currently undergoing state trials, will be furnished with survey motorboats and a laboratory module for hydrometeorological studies, Russian Navy spokesman Igor Dygalo said on Friday.
"The most advanced icebreaker Ilya Muromets built for the Russian Navy at the Admiralty Shipyard will be able to perform the function of a hydrographic survey vessel along the functions of an icebreaker, a patrol and a tug vessel. For this purpose, it will be equipped with two latest Project 21961 hydrographic survey boats built at the Rybinsk-based Vympel enterprise," the spokesman said.
The survey boats have already been delivered to the Admiralty Shipyard and they have undergone all the required trials. They will be installed on the icebreaker immediately before the vessel makes its passage to the Northern Fleet," Dygalo said.
"A container laboratory for hydrometeorological studies may also be installed aboard the icebreaker for the performance of hydrographic tasks. The icebreaker will also be able to carry out hydrographic survey of sea areas with the help of a multi-beam echo-sounder installed on its board," the Navy spokesman said.
The icebreaker Ilya Muromets set off for state trials in the Baltic Sea on October 5. The trials that will last 27 days will finally check all the icebreaker’s performance characteristics and systems. The program of trials will also include practicing the helicopter’s takeoff and landing on the icebreaker’s helipad and work with cargo. During this time, the crew will practice the helicopter’s daytime and night flights from the icebreaker.
Russia’s advanced icebreaker Ilya Muromets begins state trials in Baltic Sea
The advanced icebreaker Ilya Muromets built for the Russian Navy started state trials at practice ranges in the Baltic Sea on Thursday.
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 at the Admiralty Shipyard’s wharf on Thursday.
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 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 reported.
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.