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Bellona nuclear digest. May 2024
A survey of events in the field of nuclear and radiation safety relating to Russia and Ukraine.
News
Publish date: December 8, 1998
Written by: Thomas Nilsen
News
According to Reuters, Sovietsky Soyuz ran into the thick ice late Monday evening, 180 kilometres west of Pevek. The Arctic port of Pevek is located on Chukotka peninsula, one of the world’s most isolated corners. The ice is reported to be 15-20 meters deep, which is unusually thick for this time of the year. The temperature is below -28 °C.
Sovietsky Soyuz is accompanying a Finnish oil tanker that carried fuel to the regional powerplant in Pevek. The icebreaker and the oil tanker got stuck on the return voyage towards the northern sea route. The crew on board Sovietsky Soyuz has sent a message, asking for a helicopter to check the area for thinner passages of ice. The icebreaker is of the Arctica class, and its two nuclear reactors make it the world’s most powerful civilian vessels. The actual power transmission to the propellers is 75,000 hp (135 MW). But not even that helps when the ice is as thick as 20 meters.
A survey of events in the field of nuclear and radiation safety relating to Russia and Ukraine.
But it’s unlikely to impact emissions from shipping along the Northern Sea Route.
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.
The following op-ed, written by Bellona’s Charles Digges, originally appeared in The Moscow Times. In recent months, the Russian nuclear in...