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Rosatom: Sibir nuclear-powered icebreaker expected in Kara Sea in January

The Sibir nuclear-powered icebreaker is the second vessel of Project 22220, built by the Baltic Shipyard
Sibir nuclear-powered icebreaker Valentin Yegorshin/TASS
Sibir nuclear-powered icebreaker
© Valentin Yegorshin/TASS

ST. PETERSBURG, December 2. /TASS/. The Sibir nuclear-powered icebreaker of Project 22220 is due to sail into the Kara Sea the first week of January, 2022. The icebreaker’s commissioning paperwork is scheduled for December, 15, head of the Northern Sea Route’s management, Rosatom’s Deputy Director General Vyacheslav Ruksha told reporters on Thursday.

"The Sibir nuclear-powered icebreaker should have been commissioned in August. I hope, the Baltic Shipyard will fix the revealed flaw, at least that’s the plan. On December 10 will begin another running trial, planned for 3-5 days. On the 15th, if everything goes fine, we may begin the paperwork. I hope, within the first ten days of January, the icebreaker will get to the Kara Sea," he said during the 11th international forum Arctic: Present and Future.

Another icebreaker of Project 22220 - the Yakutia - is due to be ready by December, 2024, he continued, though possible delays in power units’ supplies may shift the date. One more icebreaker, the Chukotka, is scheduled for December, 2026.

The Sibir nuclear-powered icebreaker is the second vessel of Project 22220, built by the Baltic Shipyard. The lead nuclear-powered icebreaker of Project 22220, the Arktika, was commissioned in October, 2020. The Baltic Shipyard has been working on the project’s four serial nuclear-powered icebreakers - the Sibir, the Ural, the Yakutia, and the Chukotka.

The 11th international forum Arctic: Present and Future will continue working in St. Petersburg on December 4. The program, which includes 52 discussion sites, two plenary sessions, and roundtables, will focus on the Arctic ecology, development of infrastructure shipments along the Northern Sea Route, and other topics. TASS is the event’s general information partner.