Keel laying ceremony of the nuclear-powered icebreaker takes place at the Baltic Shipyard
Project 22220 series of nuclear-powered icebreakers is being built to the class of Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RS). The keel laying of the first serial ship took place at the Baltic Shipyard on 26 May 2015. RS class notation: КМ✪ Icebreaker9 [2] AUT2-ICS EPP . The pilot ship is being built at the yard since 2013. All in all, three nuclear-powered ships of the project are planned for construction to the RS class.
The official keel laying ceremony was attended by Dmitry Rogozin, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Sergey Kiriyenko, CEO of State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom, Vyacheslav Ruksha, General Director of Rosatomflot, Aleksey Rakhmanov, President of the United Shipbuilding Corporation, Artur Chilingarov, President of the State Polar Academy, Sergey N. Sedov, CEO of Russian Maritime Register of Shipping and other official persons.
At the ceremony, the heads of the Atomfflot, the Baltic Shipyard and the RS Branch Office for Nuclear Vessels signed a Keel Laying Acceptance Report of the first serial nuclear-powered icebreaker, project 22220.
RS was represented at the ceremony by Sergey N. Sedov, CEO, who noted that RS is a world leader in technical requirements development for icebreakers and ice class ships and a unique society having civil nuclear-powered fleet in its class. All the icebreakers operating in Russia today were designed and built with RS direct involvement, which made it possible to ensure their compliance with the highest safety standards. The new series of those sophisticated engineering structures constitutes no exception. “Ships of this project represent a new type of Russian nuclear-powered icebreakers and a new stage in the history of national shipbuilding. By their construction, a corner stone of the Russian icebreaking fleet is laid and a new page is turned in the development of the Arctic shipping,” Sergey Sedov emphasized.
Owing to a new structural solution, ship draught can be modified which makes efficient operation possible both in deep western areas of the Arctic (Barents, Pechora and Kara Seas) and in shallower waters in the mouth of the Yenisei and the Gulf of Ob. The highest Arctic category Icebreaker9 and 60 MW power will enable the icebreakers to move through the level ice up to 2.8 m thick. The project ship length is 173.3 m, the breadth is 34 m, design draught is 10.5 m and minimal operating draught is 8.55 m. Pre-designed displacement is 33 540 tons. They will be the largest and the most powerful icebreakers in the world.
While constructing the icebreakers, RS experts carry out survey of their hulls, machinery plants, radio-navigational and electrical equipment, automation equipment, etc. in accordance with the requirements of RS Rules and RS-approved design documentation as well as with all the applicable statutory requirements. Upon completion of the construction, RS will proceed with the in-service survey of the icebreakers.
