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Three out of four icebreakers for Northern Sea Route may be decommissioned by 2030

By 2020 it's necessary to stop the old Soviet-time fleet of icebreakers, according to the deputy director general of Atomflot

Vaygach icebreaker Lev Fedoseev/TASS

Vaygach icebreaker

© Lev Fedoseev/TASS

ST. PETERSBURG, December 6. /TASS/. Only one of four existing nuclear-powered icebreakers, which now take vessels along the Northern Sea Route, will continue service after 2030 - The 50 Let Pobedy. The other icebreakers will be decommissioned, Deputy Director General of the nuclear fleet authority, Atomflot, Leonid Irlitsa told the Arctic: Present and Future international forum.

"The nuclear-powered icebreaker fleet is getting old, and by 2020 we shall have to stop the old Soviet-time fleet of icebreakers," he said.

Read also

Russian Northern Fleet warships set off for deployment to Atlantic

His presentation’s slides showed the Taimyr (commissioned in 1989) and the Yamal (commissioned in 1992) may be decommissioned by 2029, and the Vaygach (in service since 1990) - by 2028. The 50 Let Pobedy icebreaker (commissioned in 2007) will continue working to 2041.

In the coming year, he said, Atomflot expects new icebreakers.

"New icebreakers are under construction: the Arktika, the Sibir, the Ural - from next year their commissioning will begin," he said, adding the Arktika icebreaker of project 22220 is ready by 93%, and the tests are due from December, 12.

Atomflot exploits and serves Russia’s civil fleet of icebreakers. The base is located in Murmansk.

About the forum

The Arctic: Present and Future forum is underway in St. Petersburg to December 7. The event features about 2,500 delegates from Russia and 20 countries.

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