What is a nuclear icebreaker. How does a nuclear icebreaker work? Icebreakers of the Taimyr class

A few years ago, the Baltic Shipyard in St. Petersburg was experiencing serious difficulties and was on the verge of shutting down, and this summer the hull of the newest nuclear icebreaker Arktika, the namesake of the famous Soviet ship that had retired, was launched from the stocks of the enterprise. This newest vessel with a two-reactor nuclear power plant is designed as a two-draught vessel, that is, it will be able to escort transport ships both in deep and shallow water sections of the Northern Sea Route. However, in addition to nuclear leviathans like the "Arktika" and its upcoming sisterships "Siberia" and "Ural", in our high latitudes, less powerful ships of a more modest size are also in demand. These icebreakers also have their own tasks.

The icebreaker is cramped

The phrase “modest size” is the last thing that comes to mind in the workshop of the Vyborg Shipyard, where the blocks of the future icebreaker are being assembled. Huge ocher-colored structures, as high as a three-four-story building, go up to the very ceiling of a dim factory building. From time to time, here and there, a bluish welding flame flares up. The new products of VZZ do not really fit into the old dimensions of the enterprise. “We had to redesign the entire logistics chain of production,” says Valery Shorin, Honored Worker of the enterprise, senior specialist in business projects at VZZ. “In the past, ship hulls were assembled on a slipway, and then they entered the docking chamber, which was filled with water. The water descended, leaving the ship in a special channel through which an exit to the sea was opened. Now it's impossible. The camera is capable of accepting vessels no wider than 18 m.

The construction of a multifunctional icebreaking support vessel for escorting oil tankers in the Gulf of Ob is underway.

Now the VZZ is completing the construction of the Novorossiysk diesel-electric icebreaker, belonging to the 21900 M series. Two sisterships - Vladivostok and Murmansk - have already been transferred to the customer, which is Rosmorport. These, of course, are not superpowers of the Arktika type (60 MW), but the power-to-weight ratio of Project 21900 M ships is also impressive - 18 MW. The length of the icebreaker is 119.4 m, the width is 27.5. The docking camera is still in place. Its gray concrete walls, in the seams of which small vegetation has settled, are now hospitably accepting a factory tug and other not too large vessels for repairs. The icebreaker will no longer fit there. Instead of building a second, wider chamber, the factory found a different solution. In ten months, the Atlant barge was built, an impressive structure 135 meters long and 35 meters wide. The barge is a floating platform, at the corners of which white technological towers rise - markings are applied to them. Now finished blocks are delivered to the barge from the workshop on heavy-duty trailers (the largest of them is capable of transporting parts weighing up to 300 tons). On the Atlanta, the hull is being assembled, and as soon as it is ready for launching, the barge is towed to a deep place in the sea and its ballast chambers are filled with water. The site goes under water, and the depth of its immersion is tracked just by the marks on the technological towers. The future ship is afloat. He is taken to the pier, after which the work continues. The barge is released for a new ship.

The Novorossiysk icebreaker, already launched, is the last of three Project 21900 M icebreakers ordered by Rosmorport.

Raid against the ice

What makes an icebreaker an icebreaker? In principle, any vessel can break the ice, even a rowboat. The only question is how thick this ice is. In the Maritime Register there is a classification of ships that have special properties for breaking ice. The “weakest” category is Ice 1-3 (Non-Arctic ships), followed by Arc 6-9 (Arctic ships). But only ships that fall under the Icebreaker category can rightly be considered icebreakers. There are four classes in the category. The highest class - the ninth - belongs to nuclear-powered icebreakers, which are capable of continuously moving through a field of even ice up to 2.5 m thick. And if the ice is thicker? This may well be in the permanently frozen Arctic seas, where the ice does not melt in the spring, but grows over the years. Complicate the passage and hummocks. In this case, breaking ice in a continuous course has to be abandoned. If the icebreaker does not have enough power to overcome the ice, the “raids” technique is used. The ship moves away from the obstacle a few hulls back, and then rushes forward again and jumps onto the ice floe “with a run”. There is also a method of breaking ice with the stern, where ballast water is pumped from other parts of the hull to increase the mass acting on the ice. The opposite option is also possible, when water is pumped into the bow of the vessel. Or in a tank on one of the sides. This is the work of the heel and trim systems that help the icebreaker break the ice and not get stuck in the channel. The fourth method is available only to the world's first asymmetric icebreaker Baltika, unique of its kind, which, due to the non-standard hull shape, can move sideways, breaking the ice and forming a channel of such a width that is not available to other icebreakers.

Two icebreakers - "Moskva" and "St. Petersburg", built at the Baltiysky Zavod (St. Petersburg) within the framework of project 21900, belonged to the Icebreaker 6 class. 7. When moving in continuous motion, they are able to break ice 1.5-1.6 m thick, and when using the stern, they conquer a thickness of 1.3 m. This means that the Novorossiysk being completed now will be able to work not only in the Baltic, where ice almost never exceeds 90 cm, but in the Arctic seas - however, mainly in the spring and summer.

Icebreaker hulls are assembled from such huge blocks on the Atlant barge at the Vyborg Shipyard, which is part of the United Shipbuilding Corporation. As soon as the hull is ready, it is launched, and the completion of the vessel continues.

Clear water pitching

Despite the fact that the icebreakers of the 21900 M project do not have the capabilities that the Icebreaker 9 class ships have, structurally they have a lot in common, since the classic design of the icebreaker has long been invented and worked out. “The hull of the icebreaker is shaped like an egg. - says Boris Kondrashov, captain of the tugboat VSZ, deputy captain of the plant. There are almost no protruding parts on the bottom of it. This form allows you to effectively push the ice broken by the reinforced stem, to take the fragments of the ice floes down, under the ice framing the channel. But one feature of icebreakers is associated with this shape: in clear water, the vessel experiences powerful pitching even from a small wave. At the same time, when passing through ice fields, the ship's hull occupies a stable position. The ice field along which the icebreaker moves does not stand still. Under the influence of a current or wind, it can set in motion and push against the side of the icebreaker. It is extremely difficult to resist the pressure of a huge mass, it is impossible to stop it. There are cases when ice literally crawled onto the deck of an icebreaker. But the shape of the hull and the reinforced ice belt passing in the waterline area do not allow the ice to crush the ship, although large dents up to half a meter deep often remain on the sides.

1. In normal mode, the icebreaker breaks the ice, moving in a continuous course. The ship cuts through the ice with a reinforced stem and pushes the ice floes apart with a special rounded bow. 2. If the icebreaker encounters ice for which the ship does not have enough power to break it, the raid method is used. The icebreaker moves back, then with a run jumps onto the ice floe and crushes it with its weight. 3. Another option for dealing with thick ice is to move astern.

The changes made to the modified version of the icebreaker 21900 affected, in particular, the ice belt. It is reinforced with an additional 5 mm layer of stainless steel. Other nodes have also been improved. Unlike classic ships with propellers, Project 21900 M icebreakers are equipped with two rudder propellers. These are not newfangled azipods, each of which houses an electric motor in the gondola, but their functional counterpart. The columns can be rotated 180 degrees in any direction, which provides the vessel with the highest maneuverability. In addition to the columns located at the stern, the bow of the ship has a thruster in the form of a propeller in a ring fairing. What is especially interesting is that the propellers not only act as a propeller, but also have sufficient strength to take part in the fight against ice. When working astern, the propellers of the rudder propellers crush the ice, and the thruster is also capable of milling the ice. By the way, it also has one more function - to pump out water from under the ice, which the ship is storming. Deprived for a moment of support in the form of a water column, the ice breaks more easily under the weight of the nose.

New products for the Gulf of Ob

And what will happen if an icebreaker of the 21900 M type hits an iceberg, similar to the one that destroyed the Titanic? “The ship will be damaged, but will remain afloat,” says Valery Shorin. “However, this situation is unlikely these days. Even the Titanic disaster was a manifestation of negligence - it was known about the presence of icebergs in the disaster area, but the captain did not slow down. Now the surface of the ocean is constantly monitored from space, and this data is available in real time. In addition, there is a helipad in the bow of the 21900 M icebreakers. Taking off from it, the ship's helicopter can regularly conduct ice reconnaissance and determine the optimal route of movement.” But maybe it's time to replace the heavy and expensive helicopter with lighter drones? “We do not rule out the use of drones aboard the icebreaker in the future,” explains Valery Shorin, “but we do not intend to abandon the helicopter yet. After all, in a critical situation, it can act as a life-saving tool.

Multifunctionality is the slogan of our time. Icebreakers produced at VSZ are capable of not only laying channels in the ice, ensuring the passage of transport ships, but also participating in rescue operations, performing various types of work in offshore hydrocarbon production sites, laying pipes, and extinguishing fires. Such versatility is now especially in demand in areas of active economic development in the Arctic. While Novorossiysk, the last icebreaker of the 21900 M series, is being completed at the berth, the Atlant barge is assembling the hull of a multifunctional icebreaking support vessel for operation in the area of ​​the Novoportovskoye oil field in the west of the Gulf of Ob. There will be two such ships, both of which are superior in power to the 21900 M project (22 MW versus 16) and belong to the Icebreaker 8 class, that is, they will be able to break ice up to 2 m thick in continuous motion and lead oil tankers. Icebreakers are designed to operate at temperatures down to -50°C, which means they can withstand the harshest Arctic conditions. The ships will be able to perform many functions up to placing a medical hospital on board.

In the same place, on the Gulf of Ob, a large international project for the production of liquefied natural gas - Yamal LNG - is being implemented. Tankers with "blue fuel" will be intended mainly for European consumers. These ice-class tankers are being built at the shipyards of Japan and South Korea, but Russian-made icebreaking ships will have to navigate them in the ice. The contract for the construction of two icebreakers for Yamal LNG has already been signed by the Vyborg Shipyard.

To complete the picture of modern Russian icebreaking, it is worth mentioning another novelty expected soon - the most powerful non-nuclear icebreaker in the world. The vessel "Viktor Chernomyrdin", which is being built at the Baltic Shipyard by order of Rosmorport, will have a capacity of 25 MW and will be able to break ice up to two meters thick while moving backward or forward.

Nuclear icebreakers are a unique phenomenon. They were built only in the USSR and the Russian Federation. Other major powers do not have such large territories in the Arctic. "Lenin" - the first nuclear-powered icebreaker - was a real breakthrough in the scientific and technical field. It has become a symbol of the Soviet era. To see it with your own eyes, and even more so to be on board, is the dream of many sailors, historians, and admirers of the Russian fleet. How did the atomic icebreaker "Lenin" appear? About this - further.

Construction history

The creation of the nuclear icebreaker "Lenin" began in the year of Stalin's death, namely in 1953. Neganov was appointed chief designer. Afrikantov supervised the design, and Alexandrov was the supervisor.

When designing, specialists encountered difficulties in the layout of the engine room. This was due to the novelty of the equipment. The creators decided to make a model of the desired compartment out of wood. It was on it that the designers worked out layout options. At any time, everything could be redone without significant costs.

The nuclear-powered ship was laid down on August 25, 1956 in Leningrad. Chervyakov was appointed chief builder.

Various plants of the USSR took part in the creation of the nuclear-powered ship:

• Kirovsky produced ship turbines.
• Kharkov Electromechanical - main turbogenerators.
• Leningradsky - propeller motors.

Scientists from LIPAN were involved in the project. They not only dealt with the scientific side of the issue, but also had experience in engineering and manufacturing. LIPAN employees performed the most complex computational tasks.

The OK-150 installation began to be manufactured in 1955. Its creation has received the status of paramount importance. Supervised the work of the Africans. Everyone was working hard. Plant No. 92 switched to work in three shifts, no one took into account the personal time of workers. If the deadlines of the schedule were broken, penalties were imposed on those responsible. All arising errors were promptly eliminated. The price of such titanic work was "Lenin".

main parameters

The nuclear-powered ship "Lenin" was the first of its kind. Its displacement was sixteen thousand tons, excluding ballast. The longest dimension is one hundred and thirty-four meters, and the width is almost twenty-eight meters. The height of the ship is sixteen meters ten centimeters. In clear water, the ship reached a speed of nineteen and a half knots. The ship's draft was a little over ten meters.

Fleet of nuclear ships

Soviet minds quite successfully chose the field of application of the energy of the split nucleus. Icebreakers with nuclear power plants were safe and economical. However, the USSR was not the only one who decided on such experiments.

The USA was another state that was engaged in the construction of a vessel operating on the “peaceful atom”. Only they decided to create a passenger ship. Savannah served only seven years in the sixties of the last century. The Americans did not set a goal to achieve economic benefits from their creation. They just wanted to prove that they could build a ship with a nuclear power plant. They succeeded, but they did not develop the atomic program further.

The Soviet Union, on the contrary, did not stop at the construction of Lenin. Subsequently, a whole fleet of nuclear-powered ships was created. Vessels are divided into several classes:

• "Lenin";
• "Arctic";
• "Taimyr";
• LK-60Ya;
• LK-110Ya.

In winter, in the waters of the Arctic, the thickness of the ice reaches two and a half meters. Nuclear-powered ships can move through such water at a speed of eleven knots, or twenty kilometers per hour. A total of ten ships were built. Five of them are still in service.

The modern Russian Federation continues the construction of new icebreakers operating on the “peaceful atom”. In addition to their direct purpose, they carry out excursions. So, for several tens of thousands of US dollars, a person can take a cruise to the North Pole. He will spend about five days on the "top" of the planet. Then it will be delivered to Murmansk. Over the past twenty years, there have been about nine thousand such tourists. However, let's get back to the first icebreaker that brought the Arctic closer.

Design features

Many technical solutions of the first nuclear icebreaker "Lenin" were innovative at that time:

• Fuel economy. Instead of the huge amount of oil that was spent by other icebreakers per day, the nuclear-powered ship consumed only forty-five grams of nuclear fuel. This mass fit in a matchbox. In one voyage, the ship could go from the Arctic to Antarctica.
• Horsepower. There were three reactors on board, each more than three times the size of the world's first power plant. By the way, it was also built in the USSR. The total power of the installation reached forty-four horsepower.
• Ice system. The nuclear-powered ship had a special design of ballast tanks. They did not allow the nuclear-powered ship to get stuck in the ice. It worked in such a way that pumping water from one tank to another caused the vessel to rock. So the ice broke and moved apart. The same system was installed on the bow, in the stern.
• Radiation protection. There is a lot of controversy about the fact that the crew was exposed to severe radiation. In fact, he was protected from the effects of radiation by steel plates, a thick layer of water, concrete.

Launching

Despite the fact that the nuclear power plant was installed only in 1959, the launch of the Lenin nuclear icebreaker took place earlier, namely in 1957. The nuclear reactor was launched only two years after the descent.

The nuclear-powered ship set off for sea trials in 1959. In the same year, it was handed over to the Ministry of the Navy, and the following year it became part of the Murmansk Shipping Company.

Years of operation

After the descent of the nuclear icebreaker "Lenin", its operation began. In the first years, he showed excellent performance. The nuclear-powered ship had good ice-breaking capability. During the first six years of service, he traveled more than 80,000 nautical miles. He led more than 400 ships behind him. For the entire period of service, he passed in the ice more than 500 thousand miles.

In 1971, the Lenin nuclear icebreaker passed from Murmansk to Pevek north of Severnaya Zemlya. He worked for thirty years. It was taken out of service in 1989.

Serious accidents

During the long years of service on the 1st nuclear icebreaker "Lenin" there were two serious accidents:

• 1965 - partial damage to the reactor core. The fuel was partially placed at the Lepse floating technical base. The rest of the fuel was unloaded and placed in a container. Two years later, the fuel container was flooded in Tsivolki, a bay to the east of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago.
• 1967 - a leak in one of the pipelines of the reactor. During the liquidation of the leak, the equipment of the installation was seriously damaged. The entire reactor compartment was replaced. The fuel was partially placed on the same floating technical base. The Tsivolki Bay was replenished with a reactor plant that was flooded, like the fuel.

It is hardly possible to call the flooding of nuclear waste a concern for the environment. The installation of a new reactor plant on the Lenin nuclear icebreaker was completed only in 1970.

Place of eternal parking

The ship, which the Soviet Union was proud of, was not decommissioned for metal, despite the fact that it has not been operating since 1989. Where is the Lenin nuclear icebreaker located? Murmansk accepted him for eternal parking. It can be found at the pier of the maritime station.

Captains

During the period of operation, the nuclear icebreaker "Lenin" had two captains. The first was Pavel Ponomarev, who took part in the development of the nuclear-powered ship. He was born back in 1896, lived for seventy-seven years. He was a famous navigator, captain of the Yermak icebreaker. During World War II, he conducted ice operations in the Baltic. He was appointed captain in 1957. He remained in office only until 1961. He was suspended for health reasons. At least that's the official version.

Boris Sokolov became the second captain of the Lenin nuclear icebreaker. He was born in 1927 and lived for seventy-three years. His father was a carpenter. Boris Sokolov studied in Leningrad, at the Higher Arctic Naval School. During his practice, he sailed on many ships, including icebreakers. Since 1959, he became the understudy of the captain of the Lenin, and two years later he was appointed a full captain.

During his command, the crew of the nuclear-powered ship completed all of its most important missions:

• Passed into the Chukchi Sea, an area of ​​heavy ice.
• He built the North Pole station, which could drift.
• He placed sixteen radio meteorological stations near the multi-year ice, which functioned automatically. One of the drifting radio meteorological stations was installed beyond the eightieth parallel, when the polar night reigned.
• Carried out an experimental voyage for the export of ore from the port of Dudinka.

On the captain's bridge, Boris Makarovich led many ships through the ice. Thanks to his efforts, the nuclear-powered ship was preserved for posterity. Under him, it was transformed into a museum.

Since 2001, Alexander Barinov has been the captain of the no longer floating nuclear-powered ship.

Museum opening

The world's first nuclear-powered icebreaker "Lenin" has been preserved for posterity in the form of a museum. It has been welcoming visitors since 2009. In order to visit it, it is enough to come to the pier and wait for a group of people to gather. On weekends, this takes about thirty minutes.

Unforgettable excursion

The ship, which most Soviet schoolchildren heard about, settled down for eternal rest in the Kola Bay. It is not loaded, so the waterline is visible high above the water.

You can read about the history of the atomic icebreaker "Lenin" at the museum on the stand, which is on the pier. There is also a photograph of the first captain on it.

To get on the nuclear-powered ship itself, you need to go to the floating pier. From it, along the ladder, people go to the ship. A symbol is visible on the hull, which makes it clear what fuel the icebreaker ran on. It can be called a symbol of "peaceful atom".

If you climb aboard, you can see the Kola Bay. Abram-Cape is located on the other side. After entering the ship, there is a museum ticket office and a souvenir shop. Among other things, you can buy a book on navigation and the Soviet era. For example, they sell Soviet primers and models of an icebreaker.

From the main hall there are two ladders built symmetrically. On them you can climb to the upper tier. Opposite them is a bronze bas-relief depicting a map of the Soviet Arctic. You can estimate what places the ship sailed for three decades.

The interior of the nuclear-powered ship is impressive. In the corridors, cabins - wooden trim, made soundly. If you lag behind the tour, you can get lost in a large number of similar corridors. That is why single visitors are not allowed into the museum, but they are led in small groups with escort. The downside is that the guide shows a small part of the nuclear-powered ship.

In the dining room, all chairs are well-attached to the floor. And this is not surprising, since the icebreaker could get into a storm. Then all loose furniture would fly around the hall, hitting the crew members. There is a piano in the dining room. In addition, it served as a cinema hall, as a white screen hangs on the wall.

The tour also visits the nuclear reactor compartment. Lead protects him. However, now this is not required, since the equipment was dismantled before the nuclear-powered ship was withdrawn from the fleet. For entourage, there are mannequins in chemical protection suits near the compartment. You can look at the nuclear reactor on the layout.

There is a beautiful view from the wheelhouse. You can see Murmansk, and once from the window of the ship you could see completely different landscapes. These are the Arctic ice, the North Pole, the Northern Lights, the coast of Chukotka and much more. Unforgettable must be the spectacle of a searchlight that cut through the darkness of the polar night.

On the table in the wheelhouse lies a ship's log dated 1986. For some, this is a long history. No wonder, since more than thirty years have passed since then. There is a radio room next door. It is she who is responsible for external communication. "Lenin" kept in touch with ports and other ships.

In the wardroom, a carved wooden panel hangs on the wall. It depicts the Arctic. Perhaps it hung here when Yuri Gagarin, Fidel Castro and other famous personalities visited the nuclear-powered ship. The icebreaker itself is also depicted on the panel. Next is the captain's mate's cabin. It contains a bust of Lenin, whose name the nuclear-powered ship bears. There is a chessboard and a piano in the leisure room.

After walking through the compartments, cabins and intricate corridors, it's nice to go outside again. If there is time left, you can take another look at the ship and make sure that it is not in vain that it is considered the most striking symbol of the development of the Arctic.

Although the first nuclear icebreaker "Lenin" (launched in 1957) was withdrawn from the fleet back in 1989, there is a crew on board. It is no longer as numerous as before.

In the old days, the crew consisted of two hundred and forty-three people. They could sail for a full calendar year in the Arctic without touching the shore. It was a real city on the water. The ship even provided for a hospital. The doctors had an X-ray machine and an operating room at their disposal. In the middle of the last century, this applied to advanced technologies.

The nuclear-powered ship's chief mechanic, Vladimir Kondratiev, was fond of photography. During the years of sailing, he took many pictures. You can see them at the exhibition of photographs of the Arctic.

During construction and immediately after the descent of the Lenin nuclear icebreaker, many famous people visited it. Among them, one can single out Harold Macmillan, Richard Nixon. One of the photos shows Fidel Castro, who visited Murmansk. He examines the model ship with interest.

The ship was used for filming the disaster film Icebreaker, released in 2016. The plot tells about real events. Only they happened with the ship "Mikhail Somov". The crew spent one hundred and thirty-three days among the ice in anticipation of rescue. This story took place in 1985.

In December 1957, the world's first surface ship with a nuclear power plant was launched in Leningrad. This wonderful news, shortly before the 42nd anniversary of the Great October Revolution, spread all over the world.

Foreign newspapers were full of headlines: “The Russians commissioned a nuclear-powered ship”, “The Polar Colossus of the Soviets is on the Neva”, “The victory on the peaceful front of the use of atomic energy was won by the Soviet Union” ...
1. The decision to build the world's first nuclear-powered icebreaker was made at a meeting of the USSR Council of Ministers on November 20, 1953. The new ship was necessary for the development of navigation along the Northern Sea Route. Ordinary diesel-powered icebreakers had a very high fuel consumption, which reduced their efficiency, while a nuclear-powered icebreaker could actually sail indefinitely.
2. About 300 enterprises and research institutes of the Soviet Union were involved in the construction of the world's first nuclear icebreaker. The construction of the icebreaker was carried out in the open air, since none of the existing workshops was suitable for the construction of a vessel of this magnitude. Despite this, from the laying of the ship at the Leningrad shipbuilding plant named after. A. Marty before launching it took less than a year and a half - from August 25, 1956 to December 5, 1957.


Construction of the nuclear icebreaker Lenin.
3. The project of the world's first nuclear-powered icebreaker, named "Lenin", turned out to be completely unique in terms of openness - during construction and sea trials, it was visited, in particular, by British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan and US Vice President Richard Nixon.
4. The nuclear icebreaker "Lenin" had not only a nuclear power plant, but also an advanced design, unusual for Soviet ships of that time - there was a cinema hall, music and smoking salons, a sauna, a library on board, and the crew cabins were designed for 1-2 people. The interior of the vessel was trimmed with Karelian birch and Caucasian walnut.

Nuclear icebreaker "Lenin" descends from the stocks.
5. The launch of the first nuclear-powered icebreaker frightened the NATO countries and ... the leadership of Leningrad. When the ship left the shipyard, the city authorities demanded guarantees that an atomic explosion would not occur on the Lenin. During the transition from Leningrad to Murmansk, "Lenin" was accompanied by NATO warships, which carried out an analysis of the radiation background around the ship. The fears turned out to be in vain - for all the years of operation of the icebreaker, not a single member of its crew suffered from radiation.
6. On December 3, 1959, the atomic icebreaker "Lenin" was officially assigned to the Soviet fleet. Pavel Akimovich Ponomarev was appointed the first captain of the world's first nuclear-powered icebreaker. Interestingly, earlier Ponomarev was the captain of the Ermak icebreaker, the world's first icebreaker of the Arctic class.


7. In 1961, the Lenin icebreaker carried out the first ever landing of a drifting research station from a vessel. The station "North Pole-10" was opened on October 17, 1961 and worked until April 29, 1964. From that moment on, disembarking polar expeditions from an icebreaker has become a common practice.
8. On November 4, 1961, Boris Makarovich Sokolov became the captain of the Lenin icebreaker, who did not leave his post for almost 30 years, until the vessel was withdrawn from the fleet in 1990. In 1981, Boris Sokolov was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor.


9. After the commissioning of the nuclear icebreaker "Lenin", the navigation time in the western region of the Arctic was increased from three to 11 months. "Lenin" has been successfully operating for more than 30 years, exceeding the estimated service life by five years. Over the years, the icebreaker has traveled more than 654 thousand nautical miles (563.6 thousand in ice), escorting 3,741 ships through the ice of the Arctic. Icebreaker "Lenin" became the first ship that was on a continuous watch in the Arctic for 13 months.
10. After being decommissioned in 1990, the Lenin icebreaker was in danger of being scrapped. However, the veterans of his crew managed to achieve the creation of a museum on its basis. Currently, the world's first nuclear-powered icebreaker "Lenin" is permanently moored in Murmansk, becoming one of the symbols of the polar city.

Andrey Akatov
Yuri Koryakovsky
FSBEI HPE "St. Petersburg State Technological Institute (Technical University)", Department of Engineering Radioecology and Radiochemical Technology

annotation

The development of the Northern Sea Route is unthinkable without the development of a nuclear icebreaker fleet. The championship in the creation of a surface vessel with a nuclear engine also belongs to our country. The article presents interesting facts related to the creation and operation of nuclear-powered ships, their design and principles of operation. The new requirements for the icebreaker fleet in modern conditions and the prospects for its development are considered. The description of new projects of nuclear icebreakers and floating power units is given.

The Arctic is conquered only by people with a strong will who are able, regardless of the circumstances, to go towards the intended goal. Their ships should be the same: powerful, autonomous, capable of long exhausting transitions in difficult ice conditions. We will talk about such ships, which are the pride of Russia - about nuclear icebreakers.

Nuclear-powered icebreakers provide escort for tankers and other vessels along the Northern Sea Route, evacuate polar stations from drifting ice floes that have become unsuitable for work and life-threatening polar explorers, as well as rescue ships stuck in the ice and conduct scientific research.

Nuclear-powered icebreakers differ from conventional (diesel-electric) icebreakers, which cannot stay at sea for a long time without calling at ports. Their fuel supply is up to a third of the mass of the vessel, but it is only enough for about a month. There were cases when caravans of ships got stuck in the ice just because the icebreakers ran out of fuel ahead of time.

A nuclear-powered icebreaker is much more powerful and has greater autonomy, i.e., it is able to perform ice tasks for a longer time without entering ports. This multifunctional vessel is an engineering marvel that Russians have a right to be proud of. Moreover, the Russian nuclear icebreaker fleet is the only one in the world, and no one else has such vessels. Yes, and the championship in the creation of a surface vessel with a nuclear engine also belongs to our country. It happened in the 50s. the last century.

Ice "Lenin"

The successes of scientists and engineers in mastering atomic energy led to the idea of ​​using an atomic reactor as a ship engine. New ship installations promised unprecedented advantages in terms of power and autonomy of ships, but the path to obtaining the coveted technical characteristics was thorny. No one else in the world has developed such projects. It was necessary to create not just a nuclear reactor, but a powerful, compact and at the same time fairly light nuclear power plant, which would be conveniently placed in the case.

The developers also remembered that their brainchild would experience pitching, shock loads and vibrations. We did not forget about the safety of personnel: radiation protection on a ship is much more difficult than at a nuclear power plant, because bulky and heavy protective equipment cannot be used here.

The first designed nuclear-powered icebreaker had high power and was twice as powerful as the world's largest American icebreaker, the Glacier, which placed special demands on the strength of the hull, the shape of the fore and aft ends, and the survivability of the ship. The designers, engineers and builders faced a fundamentally new technical challenge, and they solved it in the shortest possible time!

While the country was launching the world's first nuclear power plant (1954), launching the first Soviet nuclear submarine (1957), the world's first nuclear surface vessel was being created and built in Leningrad. In 1953–1956 The team of TsKB-15 (now "Iceberg") under the leadership of the chief designer V. I. Neganov developed a project, the implementation of which began in 1956 at the Leningrad Shipbuilding Plant. Andre Marty. The design of the nuclear plant was carried out under the guidance of I. I. Afrikantov, and the hull steel was specially developed at the Prometheus Institute. Leningrad plants supplied the icebreaker with turbines (Kirov Plant) and propeller motors (Elektrosila). Not a single foreign detail! 75 km of pipelines of different diameters. The length of the welds is like the distance from Murmansk to Vladivostok! The most difficult technical problem was solved in the shortest possible time.

The launching took place on December 5, 1957, and on September 12, 1959, the Lenin nuclear icebreaker under the command of P. A. Ponomarev from the shipyard of the Admiralty Plant (renamed A. Marty Shipbuilding Plant) went for sea trials. It became the world's first nuclear-powered surface ship, since the first foreign-made nuclear-powered ship (the nuclear-powered missile cruiser Long Beach, USA) was put into operation much later - on September 9, 1961 - and the first merchant ship with a nuclear power plant, the Savannah (also American) set sail only on August 22, 1962. The journey from Leningrad to Murmansk was memorable.

Icebreaker Arktika

While the ship was sailing around Scandinavia, it was accompanied by NATO planes and ships. The boats took water samples from the side to make sure the radiation safety of the icebreaker. All their fears turned out to be in vain - after all, even in the cabins adjacent to the reactor compartment, the radiation background was normal.

The operation of the nuclear icebreaker "Lenin" made it possible to increase the period of navigation. During its operation, the nuclear-powered ship traveled 1.2 million km and navigated 3,741 ships through the ice. There are many interesting facts about the first nuclear-powered ship. For example, he consumed only 45 g of nuclear fuel (less than a matchbox) per day.

Icebreaker Siberia

It could be converted into an arctic war cruiser. Among other things, the icebreaker served as a camouflage for Soviet nuclear submarines: the ship was heading along a predetermined course, leading nuclear submarines that were sliding in the depths under its hull to a predetermined high-latitude region.

Having worked with dignity for 30 years, in 1989 the nuclear icebreaker "Lenin" was decommissioned and is now at the place of eternal parking in Murmansk. A museum has been created on board the nuclear-powered ship, and there is an information center for the nuclear industry. But even today, the date of December 3 (the day the national flag is hoisted on the world's first nuclear-powered icebreaker) is celebrated as the birthday of the Russian nuclear icebreaker fleet.

From the Arctic to the present day

The nuclear icebreaker Arktika (1975) is the first ship in the world to reach the North Pole in surface navigation. Prior to this historic voyage, not a single icebreaker dared to go to the Pole. The top of the world was conquered on foot, by plane, by submarine. But not on an icebreaker.
The experimental scientific-practical cruise left Murmansk in an arc through the Barents and Kara Seas to the Laptev Sea and then turned north to the pole, encountering multi-year ice several meters thick on its way. On August 17, 1977, having overcome the thick ice cover of the Central Polar Basin, the nuclear-powered ship reached the North Pole, thus opening a new era in the study of the Arctic. And on May 25, 1987, another Arktika-class nuclear-powered ship, Siberia (1977), visited “above the planet”. To date, both vessels have been decommissioned.

Currently, the nuclear icebreaker fleet operates four vessels.

Two icebreakers of the Taimyr class - Taimyr (1989) and Vaigach (1990) - are shallow-draft, which allows them to enter the mouths of large rivers and break ice up to 1.8 m thick. - due to their large draft, they are not able to enter shallow northern bays and rivers, as well as diesel-electric icebreakers (the latter due to low power and dependence on fuel supply). The problem was solved within the framework of a joint Soviet-Finnish project: specialists from the USSR designed a nuclear power plant, and the Finns designed the icebreaker as a whole.

Icebreaker Taimyr

The other two of the nuclear-powered icebreakers remaining in service are of the Arktika class; they are capable of breaking ice up to 2.8 m at a steady speed:

• "Yamal" (1993) - a smiling shark's mouth is painted on the nose of the nuclear-powered ship, which appeared in 1994, when it took children from different countries of the world to the North Pole as part of one of the humanitarian programs; since then, the shark mouth has become his brand;
• "50 Years of Victory" (2007) - the world's largest icebreaker; the ship has an environmental compartment equipped with the latest equipment for the collection and disposal of all waste products of the ship.

As already mentioned, nuclear-powered icebreakers are capable of staying at sea for a long time without entering ports. The same Arktika clearly demonstrated this advantage, having worked without a single breakdown and without calling at the home port (Murmansk) for exactly a year - from May 4, 1999 to May 4, 2000. The reliability of nuclear-powered ships was also proven by Arktika: August 24, 2005 The ship has traveled a millionth mile, which was not previously possible for any ship of this class. Is it a lot or a little? A million nautical miles on a scale known to us is 46 revolutions around the equator or 5 trips to the moon. What a 30-year-old Arctic odyssey!

In addition to escorting Arctic caravans in the northern seas, since 1990, nuclear-powered icebreakers (Soviet Union, Yamal, 50 Years of Victory) have also been used to organize tourist trips to the North Pole. The cruise departs from Murmansk and, bypassing the islands of Franz Josef Land, the New Siberian Islands, the North Pole, returns to the mainland. From the board, tourists land on the islands and ice floes by helicopter; All Arktika-class icebreakers are equipped with two helipads. The ships themselves are painted red, which is clearly visible from the air.

Separately, it is worth mentioning the Northern Sea Route. This unique transport vessel (lighter carrier) with a nuclear power plant and an icebreaking prow is also assigned to the port of Murmansk. It is called a lighter carrier because the Sevmorput can carry the so-called lighters - non-self-propelled sea vessels designed to transport goods and ensure their processing. If there are no berths on the shore or the harbor is not deep enough, then the lighters are unloaded from the ship and towed to the shore, which is very convenient, especially in the conditions of the northern coast. With the help of special grips, the lifting device rigidly fixes the lighters and quickly lowers them into the water through the stern of the vessel. Containers can also be unloaded on the move, which was used in special cases.

Icebreakers "Sevmorput" and "Soviet Union" at the berth of FSUE "Atomflot" in Murmansk

It should be noted that until recently, the future of the one-of-a-kind nuclear lighter carrier was presented in a very black color: for many years the vessel stood idle, and in August 2012 the Sevmorput was generally excluded from the register of ships and was waiting for the start of work on decommissioning operation. However, in 2013, they decided that a ship of this class would still be useful to the fleet: an order was signed to restore the nuclear-powered ship. The resource of the nuclear installation will be extended, the return of the ship to service is expected in the coming years.

So, we met with representatives of the family of nuclear icebreakers. Now it's time to understand their device.

How does a nuclear icebreaker work and work?

In principle, all nuclear icebreakers are built almost the same, so let's take as an example the latest of Russia's nuclear icebreakers - "50 Years of Victory". The very first thing that can be said about him is the largest icebreaker in the world.

Inside the nuclear icebreaker there are two nuclear reactors enclosed in strong cases. Why just two? Of course, to ensure its continuous operation, because the nuclear-powered ship faces the most difficult tests, which sometimes its diesel counterparts are unable to cope with. Even if one of the reactors exhausts its resource or stops for another reason, the ship can go on the other. During normal navigation, the reactors work together. Reserve diesel engines are also provided (in the most extreme case).

During the operation of a nuclear reactor, a chain reaction of fission of uranium nuclei (or rather, its isotope uranium-235) takes place in it. As a result, the nuclear fuel heats up. This heat is transferred to the primary water through the fuel element cladding, which acts as a protective coating. The containment is necessary so that the radionuclides contained in the fuel do not get into the coolant.

The water of the primary circuit is heated above 300 °C, but does not boil, because it is under high pressure. Then it enters the steam generators (each reactor has four of them), pierced by tubes, through which the water of the second circuit circulates, turning into steam. The steam is sent to the turbine plant (two turbines are installed on the ship), and the slightly cooled coolant of the primary circuit is again pumped into the reactor by circulation pumps. To prevent rupture of pipelines during pressure surges, a special module is provided in the primary circuit, which is called a pressure compensator. The reactor itself is located in a casing filled with clean water (third circuit). There is no leakage of radioactive water from the primary circuit - it circulates in a closed circuit.

The steam generated from the water of the secondary circuit rotates the turbine shaft. The latter, in turn, turns the rotor of the generator, which generates electric current. The current is supplied to three powerful electric motors that rotate three propellers of reinforced strength (propeller weight - 50 tons). Electric motors provide a very fast change in the direction of rotation of the propellers and speed when the reactor is operating at a constant power. Indeed, an icebreaker sometimes has to change direction abruptly (for example, sometimes it cuts ice, moving back, accelerating and hitting an ice floe). The reactor is not adapted for such work (its task is to produce electricity), and the electric motor can easily be switched to reverse.

The steam of the second circuit, having worked out on the turbine, enters the condenser. There it is cooled by sea water (fourth circuit) and condenses, that is, it turns back into water. This water is pumped through a desalination plant to remove corrosive salts, and then through a deaerator in which corrosive gases (carbon dioxide and oxygen) are removed from the water. Then, from the deaerator tank, the feed water of the second circuit is pumped into the steam generator by a pump - the cycle is closed.

Separately, it must be said about the design of the reactor, which is called "water-water", since the water in it performs two functions - a neutron moderator and a coolant. Such a design has proven itself well on nuclear submarines and was later brought to land: land-based VVER-type reactors, which are already operating and will be installed at new Russian nuclear power units, are the heirs of the boat ones. Icebreaking nuclear power plants also received excellent certification: not a single accident with the release of radioactive substances into the environment in the entire fifty-year history.

The reactor does not pose any harm to the crew and the environment, since its robust hull is surrounded by a biological shield of concrete, steel and water. In any emergency, with a complete power outage and even with an overkill (turning the vessel upside down), the reactor will be shut down - this is how the active protection system is designed.

The main work of the icebreaker is the destruction of the ice cover. For these purposes, the icebreaker is given a special barrel-shaped shape, and the bow has relatively sharp (wedge-shaped) formations and a slope (cut) in the underwater part at an angle to the waterline. The icebreaker 50 Years of Pobedy has a spoon-shaped bow (in this it differs from its predecessors), which makes it possible to break the ice more efficiently. The aft end is designed for reversing in ice and protects the propellers and rudder. Of course, the hull of an icebreaker is much stronger than the hulls of conventional ships: it is double, and the outer hull is 2–3 cm thick, and in the area of ​​the so-called ice belt (i.e., in places where ice breaks), the plating sheets are thickened up to 5 cm.

When meeting with the ice field, the icebreaker with its bow crawls onto it, as it were, and breaks through the ice due to vertical force. Then the broken ice is moved apart and melted by the sides, and a free channel is formed behind the icebreaker. In this case, the ship moves continuously at a constant speed. If the ice floe has special strength, then the icebreaker moves back and runs into it at high speed, i.e., cuts ice with blows. In rare cases, an icebreaker can get stuck - for example, crawl onto a solid ice floe and not break it - or be crushed by ice. To get out of this difficult situation, water tanks are provided between the outer and inner hulls - in the bow, in the stern, on the port and starboard sides. By pumping water from tank to tank, the crew can rock the icebreaker and pull it out of the ice captivity. You can simply empty the containers - then the ship will float a little.

To prevent the bow from being covered with ice, a turbocharged anti-icing device is used on the icebreaker. It works as follows. Compressed air is supplied overboard through pipelines. Floating air bubbles do not allow pieces of ice to freeze to the body, and also reduce its friction on the ice. At the same time, the icebreaker goes faster, and shakes it less.

An icebreaker can be followed by one or more ships (caravan). If the ice conditions are difficult or the transport vessel is wider than the icebreaker, then two or more icebreakers can be used for assistance. In particularly difficult ice, the icebreaker takes the escorted vessel in tow: the stern of the nuclear-powered ship has a V-shaped recess, where the nose of the transport vessel is pulled tightly with a winch.

One of the interesting features of the 50 Let Pobedy nuclear-powered icebreaker is the presence of an environmental compartment, which contains the latest equipment that allows the collection and disposal of all waste generated during the operation of the ship. In other words, nothing is dumped into the ocean! Other nuclear-powered icebreakers also have municipal waste incinerators and wastewater treatment plants.

All nuclear-powered icebreakers and the Sevmorput lighter carrier have been transferred to the management of an enterprise of the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom - FSUE Atomflot, which provides not only their operation, but also technical support. Coastal infrastructure, floating technical bases, a special tanker for liquid radioactive waste, a dosimetric control vessel - all this ensures the continuous operation of the Russian nuclear icebreaker fleet. But in ten years, most nuclear icebreakers will be decommissioned, and practice has shown that we have nothing to do in the Arctic without them. How will nuclear icebreaking develop?

Development prospects

Until relatively recently, the prospects for the Russian nuclear icebreaker fleet were very gloomy. Newspapers wrote that the country could lose its unique fleet, and with it the Northern Sea Route (NSR). This would mean not only the loss of leadership and technology, but also a slowdown in the economic development of the Far North and the Arctic regions of Siberia. After all, there is simply no transport highway, including a land one, that could serve as an alternative to the NSR.

There are also questions to the existing nuclear icebreakers. The tonnage of ships navigating the NSR is gradually growing, and so are their dimensions. To ensure the required speed of wiring, a wide channel in the ice and increased power are needed. Therefore, the dimensions of the icebreaker itself should also be increased. But at the same time, a nuclear-powered icebreaker, which does not need a supply of fuel, begins to float, the draft becomes smaller and the ice-breaking capacity decreases. In order to increase the draft and protect the propellers from ice, it is necessary to build into the ship's hull a system of containers filled with water and giving additional weight.

Thus, even the existing nuclear-powered ships do not meet the latest requirements. Therefore, the modernization and development of the nuclear icebreaker fleet has become a truly state task and is under the close attention of the Government of the Russian Federation.

The project of a new type of icebreakers - LK-60Ya - is already being implemented. One of them, Arktika, has been under construction since 2013, the second, Siberia, was laid down quite recently, in May 2015 (at the same time, the icebreakers under construction inherited the names of the first two ships of the Arctic series). In total, there are three new vessels in the near future, including those mentioned.

Characteristics of nuclear icebreakers and the ship "Sevmorput" (according to FSUE "Atomflot", 2010)

What will be the new look of the nuclear icebreaker? Of course, it will combine the successful experience of creating and operating existing nuclear-powered ships and innovative approaches. But the main thing is that the new icebreaker will be a two-draft (universal) one, which will allow it to successfully carry out operations not only at sea, but also in estuaries. Now we have to use two icebreakers, one of which (of the Arktika class) goes through deep-water places, and the second (with a shallow draft, for example, of the Taimyr class) passes through the rapids and enters the mouths of the rivers. The new project provides for the possibility of changing the draft from 10.5 to 8.5 m by the nuclear icebreaker by drying/filling the built-in tanks with sea water, i.e. one nuclear-powered icebreaker will be able to replace two old ones at once!

But two-draft nuclear-powered ships are not the limit of design thought. While icebreakers of the LK-60Ya type are being built, engineers are already working on the next project, which will bring nuclear icebreaker construction to a new stage of development. We are talking about a ship of the LK-110YA type (also known as the "Leader") - a large vessel with a propeller power of 110 MW. In terms of performance, the LK-110Ya will be far superior to the icebreakers of the Arktika class: the Leader will be able to break ice up to at least 3.7 m thick (two human heights!). This will ensure year-round navigation along the entire NSR (and not just along its western part, as it is now). At the same time, the increased width of the LK-110Ya will make it possible to carry large-capacity vessels. Currently, the project is at the stage of developing design documentation (the expected completion date for the "paper" part is 2016).

There is one more direction in nuclear engineering that needs to be mentioned. Icebreaking power plants KLT-40 proved to be so good that it was decided to include them in the project of a floating nuclear power plant (FNPP). It is indispensable in the underdeveloped regions of the country, including on the Arctic coast, since it practically does not need fuel supplies. There is no need to cut down the forest, build roads, bring building materials for it: they brought it, put it at a special pier - and you can use it. The resource ended - they hitched it to a tugboat and took it away for recycling.

FNPP can also be used in the development of fields on the shelf of the Arctic seas to provide electricity to oil and gas platforms.

The first floating power unit - Akademik Lomonosov - was launched on June 30, 2010 at the Baltic Shipyard in St. Petersburg. At the moment, the power equipment of the station has been completely manufactured; Reactor units and turbogenerators have already been installed, fitting-out work is underway.

Concluding the brief review, the following should be said: the development of the Arctic is a necessary condition for the development of Russia as a great maritime and Arctic power, and the safe use of nuclear energy determines the economic and technological growth of our state. Therefore, there is confidence: the nuclear icebreaker fleet has an outstanding future and new achievements!

The first icebreaker in the world appeared in the 18th century. It was a small steamer capable of breaking ice in Philadelphia harbor. A lot of time has passed since the wheel was replaced by a turbine, and then a powerful nuclear reactor appeared. Today, huge nuclear-powered ships break the Arctic ice with enormous power.

What is an icebreaker?

This is a vessel used in waters covered with a thick layer of ice. equipped with nuclear power plants, and therefore they have more power than diesel ones, making them easier to conquer frozen bodies of water. Icebreakers have another clear advantage - they do not need refueling.

The article below presents the largest icebreaker in the world (dimensions, design, features, etc.). Also, after reading the material, you can get acquainted with the largest liners of the world of this type.

General information

It should be noted that all 10 nuclear icebreakers that exist today were built and launched during the Soviet Union and Russia. The indispensability of such liners is proved by the operation that took place in 1983. At that time, about fifty ships, including diesel icebreakers, found themselves in the east of the Arctic, trapped in ice. Only thanks to the atomic bomb they were able to free themselves from captivity and deliver important goods to nearby settlements.

Nuclear-powered ships have been built in Russia for a long time, because only our state has long-term contact with the Arctic Ocean - the famous Northern Sea Route, the length of which is 5,600 kilometers. It starts at and ends at Providence Bay.

There is one interesting point: icebreakers are specially painted dark red so that they are clearly visible in the ice.

The article below presents the largest icebreakers in the world (top 10).

Icebreaker Arktika

One of the largest icebreakers, the Arktika nuclear-powered icebreaker, went down in history as the first surface ship to reach the North Pole. In 1982-1986 he was called "Leonid Brezhnev". Its laying took place in Leningrad, at the Baltic Shipyard, in July 1971. More than 400 enterprises and associations, design and research scientific and other organizations took part in its creation.

The icebreaker was launched into the water at the end of 1972. The purpose of the ship is to guide ships in the Arctic Ocean.

The length of the nuclear-powered ship is 148 meters, and the board has a height of about 17 meters. Its width is 30 meters. The power of the steam generating nuclear plant is more than 55 megawatts. The technical performance of the vessel made it possible to break through ice having a thickness of 5 meters, and its speed in clear water developed up to 18 knots.

Below are the 10 largest (by length) modern icebreakers in the world:

1. "Sevmorput" is an icebreaker and transport vessel. Its length is 260 meters, the height corresponds to the size of a multi-storey building. The vessel is able to pass through a thickness of ice of 1 meter.

2. Arktika is the largest nuclear-powered icebreaker with a length of 173 meters. It was launched in 2016 and represents the first nuclear-powered icebreaker of the Russian Federation. Capable of breaking ice up to 3 meters thick.

3. "50 Years of Victory" - a sea nuclear icebreaker (the largest in the world) of the "Arktika" class, which is distinguished by its impressive power and deep landing. Its length is 159.6 meters.

4. "Taimyr" - a nuclear-powered river icebreaker that breaks ice in the mouths of rivers up to 1.7 meters thick. Its length is 151.8 meters. A feature of the vessel is a reduced landing and the ability to operate at low extreme temperatures.

5. "Vaigach" - built according to the same project with "Taimyr" (but it is a little younger). Nuclear equipment was installed on the ship in 1990. Its length is 151.8 m.

6. "Yamal" - famous for the fact that it was on this icebreaker that the meeting of the beginning of the third millennium at the North Pole took place. The total number of voyages of the nuclear-powered ship to this point was almost 50. Its length is 150 meters.

7. Healy is the largest US icebreaker. In 2015, Americans were able to travel to the North Pole on it for the first time. The research vessel is equipped with the latest laboratory and measuring equipment. Its length is 128 meters.

8. PolarSea is one of the oldest icebreakers in the United States of America, built in 1977. Seattle is the home port. The length of the vessel is 122 meters. Perhaps, due to old age, it will soon be decommissioned.

9. Louis S. St-Laurent - the largest icebreaker built in Canada (120 meters long) in 1969 and completely modernized in 1993. This is the first ship in the world to reach the North Pole in 1994.

10. Polarstern is a German nuclear-powered ship built in 1982 and intended for scientific research. The oldest ship has a length of 118 meters. In 2017, Polarstern-II will be built, which will replace its predecessor and take over the watch in the Arctic.

The largest icebreaker in the world: photo, description, purpose

"50 Years of Victory" is a modernized experimental project of the 2nd series of icebreakers of the "Arktika" type. On this vessel, the shape of the bow in the form of a spoon is used. It was first used in the development of the experimental "Kenmar Kigoriyak" (icebreaker, Canada) in 1979 and convincingly proved its effectiveness.

It is the largest and most powerful in the world equipped with a modern digital automatic control system. It also has a modernized set of means for the biological protection of a nuclear power plant. It is also equipped with an environmental compartment equipped with the latest modern equipment that collects and utilizes the waste products of the personnel on the ship.

The icebreaker "50 Let Pobedy" is not only engaged in the release of other ships from ice captivity, it is also focused on the implementation of tourist cruises. Of course, there are no passenger cabins on the ship, so tourists are accommodated in the usual cabins of the ship. However, the board of the ship is equipped with a restaurant, sauna, swimming pool and gym.

Brief history of the ship

The world's largest icebreaker - "50 Years of Victory". It was designed in Leningrad, at the Baltic Shipyard, in 1989, and 4 years later it was built and launched for the first time. However, its construction was not completed due to financial troubles. Only in 2003, its construction was resumed, and in February 2007, tests began in the Gulf of Finland. Murmansk became its port of registry.

Despite the protracted start, today the ship has more than a hundred trips to the North Pole.

The most powerful and largest icebreaker "50 Years of Victory" is the 8th nuclear-powered icebreaker, designed and built at the Baltic Shipyard.

"Siberia"

At one time, the Soviet Union had no equal in the field of building nuclear icebreakers. In those days, there were no such ships anywhere in the world, while the USSR had 7 nuclear-powered icebreakers. For example, "Siberia" is a ship that has become a direct continuation of nuclear installations of the "Arktika" type.

The ship was equipped with a satellite communications system responsible for fax, navigation and telephone communications. It also had all the amenities: a lounge, swimming pool, sauna, library, training room and a huge dining room.

The icebreaker "Sibir" went down in history as the first ship to make year-round navigation from Murmansk to Dudinka. In addition, it is the second ship to reach the top of the planet at the North Pole.

In 1977 (the moment the icebreaker was commissioned), it had the largest dimensions: 29.9 meters - width, 147.9 meters - length. At that time, it was the largest icebreaker in the world.

Importance of icebreakers

The importance of such ships will only increase in the near future, because in the future many activities are planned for the active development of natural resources located under the bottom of the great Arctic Ocean.

In some sections, navigation does not last only 2-4 months, because the rest of the time all the water is covered with ice up to 3 meters or more thick. In order not to risk the ship and the crew, and also in order to save fuel, aircraft and helicopters are sent from the icebreakers to carry out reconnaissance in search of an easier way.

The world's largest icebreakers have an important feature - they can autonomously navigate the Arctic Ocean throughout the year, breaking up to 3 meters thick ice of an unusual shape with their bows.

Conclusion

The USSR at one time had absolute dominance in the world in terms of the number of such ships. In total, seven nuclear-powered icebreakers were built in those days.

Since 1989, some icebreakers of this type have been used for tourist excursions, mostly to the North Pole.

In winter, the thickness of ice in the ocean averages 1.2-2 meters, and in some areas it reaches 2.5 meters, but nuclear icebreakers are able to navigate such waters at a speed of 20 kilometers per hour (11 knots). In ice-free waters, speeds can reach 45 kilometers per hour (or 25 knots).