The first nuclear icebreaker in the USSR was named. Russian nuclear fleet. Icebreakers. How "grandfather" was born

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 ability. 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.

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 (this is what distinguishes it 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 the 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-sea 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 deposits 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!

Quite recently, a very interesting trip for me and for other bloggers took place to Murmansk, to the place of parking and repair of the Russian nuclear fleet. Almost all icebreakers were in one place, stood at the berths, each carried out its own work.
Many have already written their posts, many have already read them. In order not to repeat myself and pour dry facts into your monitors, I will tell you interesting moments about each icebreaker together and separately...

Russia is the only country with a fleet of nuclear-powered icebreakers. Nuclear icebreakers are much more powerful than diesel ones, so there are simply no analogues in the whole world. The most important advantage of the nuclear fleet is the absence of regular refueling, which is very convenient and beneficial in permafrost conditions.

I will start my story with the most massive project - Icebreakers of the Arktika type (project 10520). These include six nuclear-powered icebreakers built in the USSR and Russia.

Nuclear-powered icebreakers of the Arktika class are used to escort cargo and other ships along the Northern Sea Route. This route includes the Barents, Pechora, Kara, East Siberian Seas, the Laptev Sea and the Bering Strait. The main ports along this route are Dikson, Tiksi and Pevek.

1. Icebreaker "Arktika"was laid down on July 3, 1971 at the Baltic Shipyard in Leningrad and only on April 25, 1975 was put into operation. He is the ancestor of this class and the first to visit the north pole. It is happened August 17, 1977 at 4 am Moscow time.

The nuclear icebreaker of project 10520 is a complex and expensive engineering structure. There are almost 1,300 rooms on the ship, including: - 155 cabins, a galley and a dining room, a club-cinema hall for 108 seats, a medical unit with an operating room, a gym, a library and other household premises to ensure a comfortable life for the crew and passengers during prolonged isolation from the “mainland” ” - two power plants with backup and emergency diesel generators, workshops, fire extinguishing and ventilation systems corresponding to a nuclear power facility - a helipad with appropriate infrastructure, a radio center, etc. etc.

For 33 years of trouble-free operation, he traveled more than a million miles in the ice of the Arctic. In 1999-2000, he worked in the Arctic Ocean for a year without refueling and calling at the port.

Currently, the icebreaker is in the port of Murmansk, on "cold sludge". In August 2008, it was decommissioned.

By the way, everyone's favorite captain Lobusov Dmitry dmitry_v_ch_l , who is now working for 50 Years of Victory, from 2005 to 2007 also ruled the Arctic in the person of the captain.
My grandmother once went on an expedition to the North Pole. She even has pictures somewhere. Then I'll find it and show you...

2-3. The second icebreaker of this class, called "Sibir", is in the same place, awaiting disposal in 2015. This ship is completely identical to the "Arktika" and worked at sea from 1977 to 1992. Decommissioned due to malfunctioning steam generators.

In 1993, on board the Sibir, the anti-terrorist exercises Blockade of the Vympel group were held, dedicated to practicing the skills of freeing a nuclear icebreaker captured by terrorists.

Currently, the icebreaker is in cold sludge and is fully prepared for cutting: dock repairs have been completed, waste and nuclear fuel have been removed from the vessel, and the bottom has been sealed. According to plans, disposal will take place in 2015.

Displacement 21120 tons, length 147.9 m, width 29.9 m, depth 17.2 m, draft 11 m, NPP power 75000 hp, speed 20.8 knots.

An interesting fact: the icebreaker had an artillery mount on its bow; presumably in the bow had shafts for R-13 ballistic missiles. The living quarters are mounted on elastic mounts and shock absorbers and are isolated from the hull to keep noise out.

4. The third icebreaker "Russia" worked right up to 2013. W Laid down on February 20, 1981 at the Baltic Shipyard. Sergo Ordzhonikidze in Leningrad, launched on November 2, 1983, accepted into service on December 21, 1985, is the fourth nuclear-powered icebreaker in the world.

The ship can independently pass the tropics to work in the Antarctic, but then when crossing the tropics, the temperature in individual rooms can rise above 50 ° C, which in turn can be detrimental to the individual mechanisms of the ship. It will also be necessary to reduce the power of the installation to a minimum. No one took risks, so all nuclear icebreakers worked in northern latitudes.

In 1990, for the first time in the history of Arctic travel, he made a cruise voyage for foreign tourists to the North Pole.

In 2012-2013 the icebreaker even managed to work in the Gulf of Finland and ensure the escort of ships to the port of Primorsk

The "Rossiya" has introduced a set of design solutions aimed at further improving the ice qualities of the nuclear-powered ship. In particular, it is provided with devices to reduce the interaction of propellers with ice, means for better icebreaking, protection of the hull from sticking and corrosion, and also for improving the cleanliness of the channel behind the icebreaker. The composition of the equipment that provides ice reconnaissance, including during the polar night, has been changed. The nuclear-powered ship's hangar is designed for the Ka-32 all-weather helicopter.

Currently, the icebreaker is laid up and the process of unloading spent fuel has begun. According to the plans, the disposal will take place after 2015, together with the nuclear icebreakers Arktika and Sibir. The icebreaker was laid up due to the lack of nuclear fuel for the next campaign and the refusal to extend the engine life of the reactor.

5. The next regular icebreaker "Soviet Union" was put into operation in 1989 and is currently being re-equipped in the port of Murmansk.

An interesting point is that the ship is designed in such a way that it can be retrofitted into a warship in a short time. Some of this equipment is in a mothballed state on board, and some is in coastal warehouses.. In particular, a fire control radar of the MP-123 detachable artillery mount was installed on the tank in front of the felling.

In March 2002, during the icebreaker's mooring at the berth in Murmansk, for the first time in practice, its power plant was used to supply onshore facilities. At the same time, the power of the installation reached 50 megawatts. The experiment was successful, but was considered unprofitable.

The service life of the icebreaker is set at 25 years. In 2007-2008, the Baltic Shipyard supplied equipment for the Sovetsky Soyuz icebreaker, which makes it possible to extend the life of the vessel.

Currently, the icebreaker is planned to be restored, but only after a specific customer is identified or until transit along the Northern Sea Route is increased and new areas of work appear. As Vyacheslav Ruksha, Director General of Rosatomflot, stated in August 2014, “we are extending the service life of the Sovetsky Soyuz icebreaker and will restore it by 2017.”

Atomic scientists laugh at the meaning of the ships' names. "Russia" is destroyed, and the "Soviet Union" is restored.

At one time, the "Soviet Union" brought and unloaded the Moskvich-2141 car onto the ice of the North Pole. Believe it or not, with such an unusual step, the AZLK management wanted to promote their products to the West. Although this miracle of the Russian auto industry flatly turned out to start, at an impromptu auction it was sold for 12 thousand dollars to the owner of a network of gas stations from the United States, and later safely delivered to a happy buyer at home. Thus, a historical maximum price for Moskvich-2141 was set.

I read an awesome detailed post from masterok about this icebreaker

6-10. The next icebreaker "Yamal" is on the list of my favorite ships. This is one of all the nuclear-powered ships that are currently working in full force on the Northern Sea Route.

The icebreaker was laid down in 1986 and launched in 1989. In 2000, he made an expedition to the North Pole to meet the third millennium. Yamal is the seventh ship to reach the North Pole. In total, he made 46 flights to the North Pole.

Everyone remembers this icebreaker by its distinctive coloring on the forecastle (bow of the ship) in the form of shark teeth. Looks amazing live! The stylized image on the nose of the icebreaker appeared in 1994 as a design element for a children's cruise, then left at the request of travel companies and eventually became traditional

The ship can break ice, moving both forward and backward. Reversing the engine (changing the direction of rotation from full turns in one direction to full turns in the other) takes 11 seconds, with a propeller weight of 50 tons. Also, the nuclear-powered ship has a double hull made of AK-28 steel. At the point of collision with ice, the outer hull has an "ice belt" five meters high and 46 mm thick, in other places the thickness of the outer hull is about 30 mm. The body is covered with a half-millimeter layer of special paint "Inerta-160" to reduce friction. That still colossus!

There are several incidents associated with this icebreaker that I would like to talk about:

On December 23, 1996, a fire broke out on the ship, as a result of which one crew member died. Nuclear reactors were not damaged, the fire was extinguished within 30 minutes.
- On August 8, 2007, a 65-year-old tourist from Switzerland, through negligence, fell overboard an icebreaker and died after hitting the water and propellers.
- On March 16, 2009, in the Yenisei Bay of the Kara Sea, during ice escort, the Yamal collided with the Indiga tanker. As a result of the impact, a crack with a total length of 9.5 m was formed on the main deck of the tanker with an opening of up to 8 mm. The tanker was in ballast, there was no environmental pollution. Then the tanker was escorted by Yamal to Arkhangelsk for repairs.

At that time, when we were in Murmansk, the icebreaker was in a floating dock and was undergoing scheduled repairs. Photos from there:

11-13. For the most delicious of this series, "50 Years of Victory" remained.

Today it is the largest operating icebreaker in the world. It was laid down on October 4, 1989 under the name "Ural" and launched on December 29, 1993. Further construction was suspended due to lack of funds. In 2003, construction was resumed, and already on February 1, 2007, the icebreaker entered the Gulf of Finland for sea trials, which lasted two weeks. The flag was raised on March 23, 2007, and on April 11 the icebreaker arrived at its permanent home port of Murmansk. On July 30, 2013, the icebreaker reached the North Pole for the hundredth time!

The estimated maximum ice thickness that the icebreaker must overcome is 2.8 m.

"50 Years of Victory" is a modified project 10520 "Arktika", which has many differences from its predecessor. The ship uses a spoon-shaped bow, which was first used in the development of the Canadian experimental icebreaker Kenmar Kigoriyak in 1979 and convincingly proved its effectiveness during trial operation. The icebreaker is equipped with a new generation digital automatic control system. The complex of means of biological protection of the nuclear power plant has been modernized and re-examined in accordance with the modern requirements of Rostekhnadzor. An environmental compartment has been created for the 50 Years of Victory, equipped with the latest equipment for the collection and disposal of all waste products of the ship.

There will be a separate, detailed post about him in pictures and an interesting story. We climbed it up and down, had dinner with the captain, visited the wheelhouse and other secret places, but everything has its time! Wait for a huge post on this topic, but for now a few photos for the seed :)

14. The next icebreaker, the first nuclear, grandfather "Lenin"

Now it is located in Murmansk, stands at the pier and works as a full-fledged museum. It was built in 1959 and did a lot of useful things for the Northern Sea Route.

Due to the high power of the power plant and high autonomy, the icebreaker showed excellent performance already in the first navigation. The use of a nuclear icebreaker made it possible to significantly extend the period of navigation.

The Lenin nuclear icebreaker is a smooth-deck vessel with an elongated middle superstructure and two masts; a runway for ice reconnaissance helicopters is located in the stern. The water-to-water type nuclear steam generating plant, located in the central part of the vessel, generates steam for 4 main turbogenerators that supply 3 propeller motors with direct current, the latter drive 3 propellers (2 onboard and 1 medium) of a particularly robust design. There are 2 autonomous auxiliary power stations. Management of mechanisms, devices and systems is remote. The crew was provided with good living conditions for a long Arctic voyage.

The icebreaker "Lenin" worked for 30 years and in 1989 was decommissioned and put into eternal parking in Murmansk.

There were two accidents on the nuclear icebreaker Lenin. The first happened in February 1965. The reactor core was partially damaged. Part of the fuel was placed at the Lepse floating technical base. The rest of the fuel was unloaded and placed in a container. In 1967, the container was loaded onto a pontoon and sunk in Tsivolki Bay, the east coast of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago.
The second accident on the icebreaker occurred in 1967. A leak in pipelines of the third circuit of the reactor was recorded. During the liquidation of the leak, serious mechanical damage was caused to the equipment of the reactor plant. It was decided to completely replace the entire reactor compartment. Part of the fuel was placed again at the Lepse floating technical base. The reactor plant was towed to Novaya Zemlya in Tsivolki Bay and flooded.

Thanks to this icebreaker and these accidents, our modern ships are improved and safe, no matter what happens! Starting with Lenin and ending with 50 Years of Victory, one can see a huge leap in nuclear energy and in the nuclear fleet, respectively.

The nuclear-powered icebreaker "Lenin" became the first domestic museum ship with a nuclear power plant, which was moored to the berth at the sea station of the hero city of Murmansk on May 5, 2009 and in five years has become one of the most visited sights of Murmansk. More than 100,000 visitors visited the nuclear-powered ship during its stay, official delegations and honored guests of the city of Murmansk come here.

I will also tell you about him separately!

15. And finally, I would like to talk about two smaller icebreaker brothers "Taimyr" and "Vaigach".

These nuclear-powered icebreakers have a reduced draft and are designed to guide ships to the mouths of Siberian rivers.

The icebreakers were built in Finland at the Wärtsilä shipyard (Wärtsilä Marine Technics) in Helsinki by order of the Soviet Union. However, the equipment (power plant, etc.) on the ship was installed in the Soviet Union, Soviet-made steel was used. The installation of nuclear equipment was carried out in Leningrad,. This installation develops a power of 50,000 liters. With. and allows icebreakers to go through ice two meters thick. With an ice thickness of 1.77 meters, the speed of the icebreaker is 2 knots. Icebreakers can operate at temperatures down to -50 °C.

"Taimyr", unfortunately, we did not find in the port, but "Vaigach" was moored to the "Soviet Union" and peacefully waited for the sea.

In conclusion, I would like to show you an infographic in comparison. A very curious picture that shows the scale and colossality of these amazing ships. The picture is clickable, if you don't see something :)

Thanks a lot Communications Department State corporations "Rosatom" for openness and personally to Ekaterina Ananyeva fromFederal State Unitary Enterprise Communications Department"Atomoflot" and Shpakov Artyom

Russia has the world's only nuclear-powered icebreaker fleet, designed to solve the problems of ensuring a national presence in the Arctic based on the use of advanced nuclear achievements. With its appearance, the real development of the Far North began.

The main activities of Rosatomflot (an enterprise of the Rosatom State Corporation) are: icebreaking support for escorting vessels in the waters of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) to freezing ports of the Russian Federation; ensuring the conduct of high-latitude research expeditions; provision of rescue operations in ice in the waters of the NSR and non-Arctic freezing seas. In addition, the company performs maintenance and repair work for general and special purposes both for its own needs and for third-party shipowners; participates in the implementation of works on environmental rehabilitation of the North-West region of Russia; and also carries out tourist cruises to the North Pole, islands and archipelagos of the Central Arctic. Due to the peculiarities of propulsion systems, one of the technical tasks is to ensure the safe handling of nuclear materials and radioactive waste.

The Northern Sea Route (NSR) is a shipping route, the main sea communication in the Russian Arctic. Passes along the northern coast of Russia along the seas of the Arctic Ocean (Barents, Kara, Laptev, East Siberian, Chukchi and Bering). The NSR connects the European and Far Eastern ports of Russia, as well as the mouths of navigable Siberian rivers into a single transport system. The length of this transport artery is 5600 km from the Kara Gate Strait to Providence Bay.

In 2008, the Federal State Unitary Enterprise "Atomflot" became part of the State Atomic Energy Corporation "Rosatom" on the basis of the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation "On Measures to Establish the State Atomic Energy Corporation "Rosatom" (No. 369 dated March 20, 2008). Since August 28, 2008, ships with a nuclear power plant and nuclear technology service ships have been transferred to it.

The nuclear icebreaker fleet currently includes: two nuclear icebreakers with a two-reactor nuclear power plant with a capacity of 75 thousand hp. (Yamal, 50 Years of Victory) and two icebreakers with a single-reactor plant with a capacity of about 50 thousand hp. ("Taimyr", "Vaigach"). They are complemented by the Sevmorput nuclear container ship (the power of the reactor plant is 40,000 hp). In addition, Rosatomflot operates three service vessels and the Rossita container ship. It also manages ships of the port fleet intended for servicing the water area of ​​the port of Sabetta: ice-class tugboats "Pur" and "Tambey"; icebreaking tugs "Yuribey" and "Nadym"; as well as the port icebreaker "Ob".

The history of the domestic nuclear icebreaker fleet dates back to December 3, 1959. On this day, the world's first nuclear-powered icebreaker "Lenin" was put into operation. Only with the advent of the nuclear icebreaker fleet in the 70s of the XX century, the Northern Sea Route began to take shape as a national transport artery in the Arctic. The commissioning of the nuclear icebreaker Arktika (1975) opened year-round navigation in the western sector of the Arctic. At this stage of the development of the Northern Sea Route, the formation of the Norilsk industrial region and the appearance of the year-round port of Dudinka on the route played a key role. Then the icebreakers Sibir, Rossiya, Sovetsky Soyuz, Taimyr, Vaigach, Yamal, and 50 Years of Victory were built. Their construction and operation predetermined the technological advantages of our country in nuclear shipbuilding for decades.

Today, the main work of Rosatomflot is related to ensuring the safety of navigation and stable navigation, including transit, along the Northern Sea Route. Transportation of hydrocarbon and other products to the markets of Asia and Europe along the NSR can serve as a real alternative to the existing transport links between the countries of the Atlantic and Pacific basins through the Suez and Panama canals. It provides a gain in time: for example, the distance from the port of Murmansk to the ports of Japan through the Northern Sea Route is about 6 thousand miles, and through the Suez Canal - more than 12 thousand miles, respectively, the duration of transit is, depending on weather conditions and ice conditions , approximately 18 and 37 days.

Largely thanks to the nuclear icebreaker fleet, a significant cargo flow is recorded on the NSR route. In 2015, about 4 million tons of cargo was transported along the NSR. Thus, the volume of traffic increased by 2.7 times compared to 1998, when traffic reached its minimum (1.46 million tons). Gradually, the wiring becomes more significant, there is more work with specific, key customers and projects that will have to be serviced until 2040. In 2016, the volume of cargo transportation along the Northern Sea Route amounted to more than 7.3 million tons, which is 35% more than in 2015. In 2017, 492 ships with a total gross tonnage of 7,175,704 tons were escorted by nuclear icebreakers in the waters of the Northern Sea Route (for comparison, in 2016 - 410 ships with a total gross tonnage of 5,288,284 tons).

Rosatomflot provides work to study the hydrometeorological regime of the seas and mineral resources of the Arctic shelf adjacent to the northern coast of the Russian Federation. Main customers: JSC "State Scientific Research Navigation and Hydrographic Institute"; Federal State Budgetary Institution "Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute", JSC "Sevmorneftegeofizika", JSC "Arktikmorneftegazrazvedka", JSC "Marine Arctic Exploration Expedition". Nuclear-powered ships of Rosatomflot are involved in providing expeditions to the drifting polar station "North Pole".

Nuclear-powered icebreakers can stay on the Northern Sea Route for a long time without needing refueling. Currently, the operating fleet includes the nuclear-powered ships Rossiya, Sovetsky Soyuz, Yamal, 50 Years of Victory, Taimyr and Vaigach, as well as the nuclear-powered lighter-container carrier Sevmorput. They are operated and maintained by Rosatomflot, located in Murmansk.

1. Nuclear-powered icebreaker - a seagoing vessel with a nuclear power plant, built specifically for use in waters covered with ice all year round. Nuclear icebreakers are much more powerful than diesel ones. In the USSR, they were developed to ensure navigation in the cold waters of the Arctic.

2. For the period 1959–1991 in the Soviet Union, 8 nuclear-powered icebreakers and 1 nuclear-powered lighter carrier - container ship were built.
In Russia, from 1991 to the present, two more nuclear-powered icebreakers have been built: Yamal (1993) and 50 Years of Victory (2007). Three more nuclear-powered icebreakers with a displacement of more than 33,000 tons are under construction, and the icebreaking capacity is almost three meters. The first one will be ready by 2017.

3. In total, more than 1,100 people work on Russian nuclear icebreakers, as well as ships based on the Atomflot nuclear fleet.

Sovetsky Soyuz (nuclear icebreaker of the Arktika class)

4. Icebreakers of the Arktika class are the basis of the Russian nuclear icebreaker fleet: 6 out of 10 nuclear icebreakers belong to this class. Vessels have double hulls, can break ice, moving both forward and backward. These ships are designed to operate in cold Arctic waters, which makes it difficult to operate a nuclear facility in warm seas. This is partly why crossing the tropics to work off the coast of Antarctica is not among their tasks.

The displacement of the icebreaker is 21,120 tons, the draft is 11.0 m, the maximum speed in clear water is 20.8 knots.

5. The design feature of the icebreaker "Soviet Union" is that at any time it can be retrofitted into a battle cruiser. Initially, the ship was used for Arctic tourism. Making a transpolar cruise, it was possible to install meteorological ice stations operating in automatic mode, as well as an American meteorological buoy.

6. Department of GTG (main turbogenerators). A nuclear reactor heats water, which turns into steam, which spins turbines, which energize generators, which generate electricity, which goes to electric motors that turn propellers.

7. CPU (Central control post).

8. Icebreaker control is concentrated in two main command posts: the wheelhouse and the central power plant control post (CPU). From the wheelhouse, the general management of the operation of the icebreaker is carried out, and from the central control room - the operation of the power plant, mechanisms and systems and control over their work.

9. The reliability of nuclear powered ships of the Arktika class has been tested and proven by time - for more than 30 years of nuclear powered ships of this class there has not been a single accident associated with a nuclear power plant.

10. Cabin for feeding officers. The dining room for the ratings is located on the deck below. The diet consists of a full four meals a day.

11. "Soviet Union" was put into operation in 1989, with an established service life of 25 years. In 2008, the Baltic Shipyard supplied equipment for the icebreaker, which makes it possible to extend the life of the vessel. Currently, the icebreaker is planned to be restored, but only after a specific customer is identified or until transit along the Northern Sea Route is increased and new areas of work appear.

Nuclear icebreaker "Arktika"

12. Launched in 1975 and was considered the largest of all existing at that time: its width was 30 meters, length - 148 meters, and side height - more than 17 meters. All conditions were created on the ship, allowing the flight crew and the helicopter to be based. "Arktika" was able to break through the ice, the thickness of which was five meters, and also move at a speed of 18 knots. The unusual color of the vessel (bright red) was also considered a clear difference, which personified a new nautical era.

13. The nuclear icebreaker Arktika became famous for being the first ship to reach the North Pole. Currently decommissioned and pending decision on its disposal.

"Vaigach"

14. Shallow-draft nuclear icebreaker of the Taimyr project. A distinctive feature of this icebreaker project is its reduced draft, which makes it possible to serve ships following the Northern Sea Route with calls at the mouths of Siberian rivers.

15. Captain's bridge. Remote control panels for three propulsion electric motors, also on the remote control there are control devices for the towing device, a control panel for the tug surveillance camera, log indicators, echo sounders, a gyrocompass repeater, VHF radio stations, a control panel for wiper blades and other joystick controls for a xenon searchlight 6 kW.

16. Machine telegraphs.

17. The main use of Vaigach is to escort ships with metal from Norilsk and ships with timber and ore from Igarka to Dixon.

18. The main power plant of the icebreaker consists of two turbogenerators, which will provide a maximum continuous power of about 50,000 liters on the shafts. with., which will force the ice up to two meters thick. With an ice thickness of 1.77 meters, the speed of the icebreaker is 2 knots.

19. The room of the middle propeller shaft.

20. The direction of movement of the icebreaker is controlled by an electro-hydraulic steering machine.

21. Former cinema hall. Now on the icebreaker in each cabin there is a TV with wiring for broadcasting the ship's video channel and satellite TV. And the cinema hall is used for ship-wide meetings and cultural events.

22. Study of the block cabin of the second chief mate. The duration of the stay of nuclear-powered ships at sea depends on the number of planned works, on average it is 2-3 months. The crew of the icebreaker "Vaigach" consists of 100 people.

Nuclear icebreaker "Taimyr"

24. The icebreaker is identical to the Vaigach. It was built in the late 1980s in Finland at the Wärtsilä shipyard (Wärtsilä Marine Engineering) in Helsinki by order of the Soviet Union. However, the equipment (power plant, etc.) on the ship was installed in the Soviet Union, Soviet-made steel was used. The installation of nuclear equipment was carried out in Leningrad, where the icebreaker's hull was towed in 1988.

25. "Taimyr" in the dock of the shipyard.

26. "Taimyr" breaks the ice in a classic way: a powerful hull leans on an obstacle from frozen water, destroying it with its own weight. Behind the icebreaker, a channel is formed through which ordinary sea vessels can move.

27. To improve the ice-breaking ability, the Taimyr is equipped with a pneumatic washing system that prevents the hull from sticking to broken ice and snow. If the laying of the channel is hampered by thick ice, trim and roll systems, which consist of tanks and pumps, come into play. Thanks to these systems, the icebreaker can roll on one side, then on the other, raise the bow or stern higher. From such hull movements, the ice field surrounding the icebreaker is crushed, allowing you to move on.

28. For painting external structures, decks and bulkheads, imported two-component acrylic-based enamels of increased weather resistance, abrasion and impact resistance are used. The paint is applied in three layers: one layer of primer and two layers of enamel.

29. The speed of such an icebreaker is 18.5 knots (33.3 km / h).

30. Repair of the propeller-steering complex.

31. Installation of the blade.

32. Bolts securing the blade to the propeller hub, each of the four blades is attached with nine bolts.

33. Almost all vessels of the Russian icebreaker fleet are equipped with propellers manufactured at the Zvyozdochka plant.

Nuclear icebreaker "Lenin"

34. This icebreaker, launched on December 5, 1957, was the first ship in the world to be equipped with a nuclear power plant. Its most important differences were a high level of autonomy and power. During the first six years of operation, the nuclear-powered icebreaker covered more than 82,000 nautical miles, navigating over 400 vessels. Later, "Lenin" will be the first of all ships to be north of Severnaya Zemlya.

35. The icebreaker "Lenin" worked for 31 years and in 1990 was decommissioned and put into eternal parking in Murmansk. Now there is a museum on the icebreaker, work is underway to expand the exposition.

36. The compartment in which there were two nuclear installations. Two dosimetrists went inside, measuring the level of radiation and controlling the operation of the reactor.

There is an opinion that it was thanks to "Lenin" that the expression "peaceful atom" was fixed. The icebreaker was built in the midst of the Cold War, but had absolutely peaceful purposes - the development of the Northern Sea Route and the escort of civilian ships.

37. Wheelhouse.

38. Front staircase.

39. One of the captains of the AL "Lenin", Pavel Akimovich Ponomarev, was previously the captain of the "Ermak" (1928-1932) - the world's first icebreaker of the Arctic class.

As a bonus, a couple of photos of Murmansk ...

40. Murmansk is the world's largest city located beyond the Arctic Circle. It is located on the rocky eastern coast of the Kola Bay of the Barents Sea.

41. The basis of the city's economy is the Murmansk Seaport - one of the largest ice-free ports in Russia. The port of Murmansk is the home port of the Sedov barque, the largest sailing ship in the world.