News
Publish date: October 13, 2003
News
The first deputy of the Transport Ministry Vyacheslav Ruksha said that a new federal company would be established to manage effectively the nuclear icebreakers, ITAR-TASS reported. At the moment, Murmansk Shipping Company manages the nuclear icebreakers. The Sevmorput will also take over Atomflot Company, service base for nuclear icebreakers. According to the Transport Ministry, this restructuring would allow to make shipping in the Arctic Ocean more effective. The icebreakers, including the nuclear ones, help to transport 1.7m tons of cargo annually. This number should reach from 12 to 15m tons. Half of this cargo would be hydrocarbon raw materials from Timano-Pechora and other Siberian deposits, Ruksha added.
An accident aboard numerous Volgoneft oil tankers in the Kerch in mid December clearly show what can happen to aged ships when they are operated in bad weather—and when economic and military objectives are prioritized over the lives of crews and environmental safety.
In this news digest, we monitor events that impact the environment in the Russian Arctic. Our focus lies in identifying the factors that contribute to pollution and climate change.
A survey of events in the field of nuclear and radiation safety relating to Russia and Ukraine.
A visit last week by Vladimir Putin and a Kremlin entourage to Astana, Kazakhstan sought in part to put Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear corporation, on good footing with local officials.