News
Publish date: September 6, 1998
Written by: Thomas Nilsen
News
The signing of an insurance policy marks the first time in the history of Russia’s civilian nuclear fleet that the operations of the nuclear-powered ships are insured against liability claims. According to the August issue of Nuclear Engineering International, the insurance policy includes the ice-breakers Arctica, Sovetsky Souz, Taimyr, Vaigach, Yamal and Russia. It does not include, however, the Siberia, one of the oldest nuclear-powered ice-breakers, which has not been in operation for several years. Murmansk Shipping Company has long delayed the repair of Siberia for financial and technical reasons. The exclusion of Siberia from the insurance deal is an indicator that the vessels life could come to an end.
It is still a unanswered question why the civilian container ship Sevmorput is not included into the insurance policy of Murmansk Shipping Company. The Industrial Insurance Company has insured the nuclear-powered ice-breakers for all possible damage incurred by their operation. Russian companies, members of the nuclear pool, will reinsure the risk. Earlier this summer, the local branch of the state nuclear inspection agency Gosatomnadzor said they would not give the nuclear-powered ice-breakers permission to operate any longer after this autumn if the Murmansk Shipping Company did not obtain insurance coverage.
Throughout the past year, our mission at the Bellona Environmental Transparency Center has focused on two key, but intertwined issues—nuclear and radiation safety as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine drags on, and the worldwide influence of Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear corporation, which itself is actively involved in the war and has participated in the occupation of a Ukrainian nuclear power plant.
At the beginning of the year, reports in the German and Russian press suggested an approximate 70% increase in uranium imports from Russia to Germany in 2024. But does this reflect broader European trends? It does not. Overall, imports of uranium and nuclear fuel from Russia to Western countries actually dropped sharply in 2024. Unlike the situation in Germany, this is already an established trend.
A Lingen, Germany plant could begin producing nuclear fuel in cooperation with a subsidiary of Rosatom, Russia's state nuclear corporation, which is directly involved in the war in Ukraine and occupying the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
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.