Rosatom, the Russian United Shipbuilding Group and the Baltic Shipyard held a ceremony for the completiThe vessel is the fourth of the 22220 nuclear-powered icebreakers, according to Rosatom managing director Alexey Likhachev.
The company now has eight nuclear-powered icebreakers and expects to have a fleet of 17 icebreakers on the Northern Sea Route by 2030.on and delivery of Russia’s fourth large nuclear-powered icebreaker, the Yakutia.
In August 2019, Baltic Shipyard signed a contract for the construction of two icebreakers, the first of which is the Yakutia, which will be operated by Rosatom’s Atomflot after delivery.
The keel of the Yakutia was laid in May 2020 at the Baltic Shipyard, and the vessel was launched in November 2022, with sea trials commencing on 1 December 2024, and the second vessel, the Chukotka, is still under construction. The second vessel, Chukotka, is still under construction and was successfully launched in early November 2024.
This series of nuclear-powered icebreakers is preceded by three other vessels, Arktika, Sibir and Ural, which have been commissioned in 2020, 2021 and 2022, respectively.
In February 2023, Baltic Shipyard announced a contract for two more icebreakers to be delivered in December 2028 and December 2030, respectively. This brings the number of 22220 nuclear-powered icebreakers built by Baltic Shipyard to seven.
The 22220 nuclear-powered icebreaker’s cost of about 60 billion rubles (about $540 million) each, borne half by the Russian Federation budget and half by Rosatom, reflects Russia’s emphasis on the Northern Sea Route. Alexey Likhachev, Rosatom’s general director, said that the volume of cargo on the Northern route is expected to approach 38 million tons in 2024, which will set a new record for the total volume of cargo on the route.
The Yakutia is said to be different from the previous three icebreakers in that “large-scale import substitution measures” were implemented. In addition to the delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the icebreaker’s imported equipment and fittings were replaced by Russian-made equipment and fittings. After the Russo-Ukrainian war, Western countries stopped exporting such equipment and accessories to Russia.
Icebreaker 22220 is currently the largest and most powerful nuclear-powered icebreaker in the world, with a design life of 40 years. Yakutia has a full load displacement of 33,540 tons and a continuous ice breaking thickness of 3 meters. It is 173 meters long, 34 meters wide with a speed of 22 knots. The hull is made of durable, corrosion-resistant steel to prevent icing and ice adhesion. Its nuclear power plant consists of two RITM-200 pressurized water nuclear reactors, each rated at 175 MW.
Russia is the country with the largest number of icebreakers, the most advanced technology and the strongest polar operation capabilities in the world. In addition to the 22220 icebreaker, Russia’s new generation of heavy nuclear-powered icebreakers, the 10510, has been under construction at the Zvezda Shipyard since 2020, and the first vessels, the Rossiya, is scheduled to be commissioned in 2030.
The 209-meter-long Rossiya will be powered by two RITM-400 nuclear reactors, each with a thermal output of 315 megawatts. With a speed of 22 knots, the icebreaker will be able to break through ice up to 4 meters thick and clear 50-meter wide shipping lanes, and will cost up to $1.6 billion each, three times as much as the 22220.