According to the deputy general director of Rosatom, a dual-fuel icebreaker Aker ARC 123 with a capacity of 55 MW, running on LNG and diesel fuel, is a promising project.

To provide the regular operation of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) by 2030, Russia should have 12-14 icebreakers. This opinion was expressed on Thursday by Vyacheslav Ruksha, head of the Northern Sea Route Directorate, deputy general director of Rosatom State Corporation, at the XI International Forum "Arctic: Today and the Future" in St. Petersburg.

“I would also like to remind you why we need so fast construction. Because of the four operating icebreakers, three icebreakers, Taimyr, Vaigach and Yamal, will soon be decommissioned due to their age, about 32-35 year old. In this sense, at the turn of 2030, we should have at least 7 nuclear icebreakers. And we need to have 12-14 icebreakers, "said Vyacheslav Ruksha at the plenary session of the international forum.

According to the head of the Northern Sea Route Directorate, today the capabilities of the shipbuilding industry do not meet the needs of the Northern Sea Route in terms of ensuring regular shipping in the region. The construction of one nuclear-powered icebreaker, as noted by Ruksha, takes about two to three years.

One of the ways to accelerate the creation of a large icebreaker fleet could be the construction of LNG-powered icebreakers. A promising project, according to the deputy general director of Rosatom, is a dual-fuel icebreaker Aker ARC 123 with a capacity of 55 MW, designed jointly with a Finnish engineering company, and running on LNG and diesel fuel.

Source: TASS