Atomenergomash’s ZiO-Podolsk machine-building plant (part of Rosatom), has loaded the first RITM-200 reactor manufactured for the Chukotka, a multipurpose nuclear-powered icebreaker of Project 22220, a PortNews correspondent reported.
There are three nuclear-powered icebreakers of Project 22220, namely Arktika Sibir and Ural, have been providing icebreaking support in the Northern Sea Route waters. Baltiysky Zavod Shipyard continues the construction of the third and the fourth nuclear-powered icebreakers of Project 22220, the Yakutia (with delivery in December 2024) and the Chukotka (December 2026). In February 2023, FSUE Atomflot and Baltiysky Zavod Shipyard signed a contract for the fifth and sixth nuclear-powered icebreakers of Project 22220 (Kamchatka and Sakhalin) with the delivery scheduled for December 2028 and December 2030, respectively.
Multipurpose nuclear-powered icebreakers of Project 22220 ships are the world’s largest and most powerful icebreaking ships. Their key task is to ensure year-round navigation in the Arctic. Icebreakers of 22220 design will form the basis of Russia’s civil icebreaking fleet in the near time.
Key particulars of Project 22220: engine rated power: 60 MW; cruising speed: 22 knots (in clear water); LOA – 174 m; beam: 34 m (33 m, DWL); height: 52 m; draft (DWL): 10.5 m/8.65 m; minimum draft: 9.3 m, full displacement: 33,540 tonnes; maximum icebreaking capability: 2.8-meter-thick ice (at full capacity and speed of 1.5-2 knots); designated service life: 40 years, crew: 53.
Machine-Building Plant ZiO-Podolsk (ZiO-Podolsk) is one of the largest Russian manufacturers of highly complex heat exchange equipment for fuel and energy complex facilities: nuclear and thermal power plants, oil and gas industries, and shipbuilding. 100% of Russian nuclear power plants, starting with the world’s first nuclear power plant in Obninsk, are outfitted with equipment bearing the ZiO brand.
The fourth serial nuclear-powered icebreaker is scheduled for delivery in 2026.