Nuclear icebreaker to the Gulf of Finland
Russia’s largest icebreaker will make sure that ships to and from St. Petersburg will not be stuck in ice like happened last winter.
The icebreaker “50 Years of Victory” will sail from its homeport in Murmansk on January 23 around the coast of Norway, Denmark and Sweden before it will start working in the waters between Russia, Finland and Estonia.
The icebreaker will work in the Gulf of Finland for 100 days, reports the St. Petersburg new-wire Fontanka.
Last winter, the ice-conditions in and out of St. Petersburg were severe and many vessels got stuck in the ice. In mid-February, 58 vessels were waiting for ice-breaker assistance and it was decided to send the nuclear powered icebreaker Vaigach from Murmansk to assist the diesel-powered icebreakers outside St. Petersburg.
This winter, the Russian Ministry of transport wants to be ahead of possible ice-problems, and has therefore signed the 300 million rubel (€7,2 million) worth contract with Rosatomflot to hire “50 Years of Victory.”
The icebreaker is both the newest and largest of Russia’s fleet of nuclear-powered icebreakers, the only civilian nuclear-powered vessels in the world. “50 Years of Victory” was put into service in 2007.
