Radioactive incident icebreaker soon back in service
The nuclear powered icebreaker ”Taimyr”, which had a leakage of cooling water last month, will be ready for service again on June 15.
Russia’s river-icebreaker “Taimyr” was on May 3 reported to have a leakage of cooling water from one of the pipes in the reactor compartment. The icebreaker, at that time operating north of Dudinka in the Yenisei River, aborted her mission and sailed towards the homeport of Murmansk on the coast of the Kola Peninsula, BarentsObserver reported.
The vessel reached Murmansk about a week later and has since been at Rosatomflot’s yard for repairs.
The repairs will be completed by June 15 and then the reactor will be turned on again, RIA Novosti reports.
According Rosatomflot’s press service, a 12-15 mm long crack was found in the reactor’s primary cooling system. A preliminary conclusion says that the crack is a result of incorrect assembling and material defects. The radioactive leakage is said to be harmless for crew and nature.
Rosatomflot plans to conduct extra surveys of all nuclear-powered icebreakers, to avoid similar accidents on other vessels.
“Taimyr” was built for shallow waters and are usually used from the Yenisei River to Dikson, where it breaks through the ice followed by cargo ships with lumber from Igarka and cargo ships with ore and metals from the Norilsk Company’s port in Dudinka.
The Murmansk-based nuclear icebreaker fleet has one similar vessel like “Taimyr.” That is “Vaigach”, an icebreaker that this winter worked in the Gulf of Finland to assist vessels through heavy thick ice in and out of St. Petersburg.
