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Sibir icebreaker to head for Ob Bay on maiden voyage

In the years to come, the Project 22220 icebreakers are expected to form the backbone of Russia’s civil icebreaker fleet
Sibir nuclear-powered icebreaker Lev Fedoseyev/TASS
Sibir nuclear-powered icebreaker
© Lev Fedoseyev/TASS

MURMANSK, January 25. /TASS/. The Sibir nuclear-powered icebreaker will leave for the maiden voyage on Tuesday evening. The icebreaker will head for Ob Bay and later on will be working in the Yenisei’s waters, Atomflot’s Director General Mustafa Kashka said on Tuesday.

"The departure is due at 21:00 Moscow time, and only weather conditions may change it," he said. "Most probably we will sign a contract with Norilsk Nickel on the work on the Yenisei River."

On Tuesday, Russia’s national ensign was flown on the Sibir nuclear-powered icebreaker - the second vessel of Project 22220, built by the Baltic Shipyard. The icebreaker was laid on May 26, 2015 and floated on September 22, 2017. The Arktika nuclear-powered icebreaker, the project’s leading vessel, has been working in the Northern Sea Route waters.

Project 22220 universal nuclear-powered icebreakers are the world’s largest and most powerful icebreaking ships. Their main task is to provide year-round navigation in the western Arctic. In the years to come, the Project 22220 icebreakers are expected to form the backbone of Russia’s civil icebreaker fleet.