Zvezda Shipbuilding Complex in the Russian Far East has been licensed to build nuclear-powered ships, Rosneft reports. Zvezda will be the only Russian yard capable of building Project 10510 Leader icebreakers. The vessel will be the most powerful icebreaker in the global shipbuilding history with no analogues elsewhere in the world.
The Leader Projects is designed for providing year-round icebreaking services for commercial fleet in the Northern Sea Route basin.
Zvezda started cutting steel for the nuclear icebreaker “Rossiya”, the lead ship in the Leader series, in June this year. The deliverer is scheduled for 2027.
The icebreaker will be 210 meters LOA, 47 meters beam and have a draft of 13 meters. “Rossiya” will be equipped with two RITM-400 nuclear reactors, four turbines and four propulsion motors. The total capacity of the power unit will make 120 MWt allowing the vessel to break ice more than 4 meters thick at a speed of 2 knots and move in 2-meter thick ice at 12 knots.
The Leader type icebreaker will be capable of making 50 meters wide channel in ice thus enabling year-round navigation of large-tonnage vessels along the Northern Sea Route.