MURMANSK, February 6. /TASS/. Rosatom's division managing the Russian icebreaker fleet, the Atomflot Company, inked a contract to build the fifth and sixth serial universal nuclear-powered icebreakers of Project 22220. The building will be financed in equal parts from the federal budget and from Atomflot's budget, the company said.

"On February 2, Atomflot and the Baltic Shipyard signed a contract on building of the fifth and sixth serial universal nuclear-powered icebreakers of Project 22220," the company reported.

According to the report, the federal budget and the Atomflot Company will finance the building in equal parts. According to the contract, the fifth icebreaker is due to be commissioned in December, 2028, and the sixth - in December, 2030.

"The continuing building of a series of universal nuclear-powered icebreakers is a key element of the integrated development of the Russian Federation's Arctic zone," Atomflot quoted its Acting Director General Leonid Irlitsa as saying. "Despite the international factors, we have been implementing the plan to build up cargo transportation through waters of the Northern Sea Route. Modern nuclear-powered icebreakers are the base for the success of Arctic projects. In the high latitudes, only we can ensure safe leading of ships at commercial speed."

About Project 22220 serial icebreakers

Nuclear-powered icebreakers of Project 22220 will facilitate the year-round navigation in the Northern Sea Route's eastern sector. The year-round navigation in the eastern direction will build up the traffic along the Northern Sea Route to 80 million tons per annum (MTPA). By 2030, the traffic may grow to 150 MTPA.

Presently, three universal nuclear-powered icebreakers of Project 22220 are operating in the Northern Sea Route waters: the Arktika, the Sibir, and the Ural. The third and fourth serial universal nuclear-powered icebreakers are due in December, 2024 (the Yakutia), and in December, 2026 (the Chukotka).