On the 22nd of September the Saint-Petersburg’s Baltijskiy Zavod-Sudostroenie launched the first series nuclear icebreaker Sibir, Project 22220, being built under ROSATOM’s order.
The launching ceremony was attended by Chairwoman of the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation Tatiana Golikova, Chairman of the Scientific and Technical Board of the Military Industrial Commission of Russia Yuri Mikhailov, Director General of ROSATOM Alexei Likhachev, Director General of Atomflot Vyacheslav Ruksha, President of USC Alexei Rakhmanov, Director General of Baltijskiy Zavod-Sudostroenie Alexei Kadilov and others.
Senior priest of St. Nicholas Naval Cathedral of the Epiphany Bogdan Soiko held the ceremony of consecration of the first series all-purpose nuclear icebreaker Sibir. After this, following the naval tradition, the ‘godmother’ of the all-purpose nuclear icebreaker Sibir Tatiana Golikova smashed a bottle of champagne on the board of the ship and the nuclear vessel moved to water from the shipway right in front of the eyes of thousands of spectators.
“Today we have become the participants of a marking event. Construction of Project 22220 icebreakers is a unique engineering and technological task. These nuclear icebreakers have no similarity in the world. Here national scientists, designers, shipbuilders merged the cutting-edge engineering solutions of today,” Golikova said.
Director General of ROSATOM Alexei Likhachev thanked employees of the Baltijskiy Zavod for their work and expressed hope that the first series all-purpose nuclear icebreaker Sibir would be commissioned in November 2020. “Meeting the set date of commissioning of the all-purpose nuclear icebreakers is the priority task for all builders of new nuclear vessels. We understand that Baltijskiy Zavod needed time to restore production ties and update the experience. Now, we wait for results,” he noted.
Commissioning of all-purpose nuclear icebreakers of Project 22220 will make the support of all-year-round navigation via the Northern Sea Route for delivery of hydrocarbons to the European and Asia Pacific markets the ultimate task of Atomflot. “Today nuclear power gives Russia unconditional leadership in high latitudes but only with all-purpose nuclear icebreakers our country can open all opportunities and advantages of the Northern Sea Route to the world. The detail design of the icebreaker Leader will be completed by the end of this year and this is already a new page in the history of the Arctic exploration,” Ruksha said.
The lead all-purpose nuclear icebreaker Arktika is to be commissioned in the middle of 2019; the first series nuclear icebreaker Sibir is to be on line in November 2020; and the second series nuclear icebreaker Ural – November 2021.
