"Vaigach" sails again
Fire struck nuclear icebreaker sails north again after three weeks of repair work in Murmansk.
“Vaigach” left the Atomflot base late Tuesday evening and is now crossing the Barents Sea towards the Yenisei River where it will escort vessels in and out from Dudinka for the rest of the winter season.
The nuclear powered icebreaker has been under repair at her homeport since February 3, following the fire last December, reports Rosatomflot. A larger overhaul of the icebreaker is scheduled for this summer.
Read also: ”Taimyr” to replace ”Vaigach” on Northern Sea Route
Two crew members were killed and one other wounded when a fire broke out in one of the living compartments onboard “Vaigach” on December 15, 2011.
“Vaigach” is one of two so-called river nuclear powered icebreakers operated by Rosatomflot with Murmansk as homeport. The other is “Taimyr” - also a single-reactor powered icebreaker. Last May, “Taimyr“ had a leakage of radioactive cooling water in one of the pipes in the reactor compartment while she was operating north of Dudinka in the Yenisei River.
