News

Nuclear icebreakers to reach lifetime limit in 2010

Publish date: April 15, 2005

Advisor of Marine and River Transport Federal Agency Alexander Ushakov stated this at the round table meeting on actual problems of the Russian sea ports and the state’s role in their solution organised by the Rosbalt agency.

According to Alexander Ushakov, the last nuclear icebreaker entered service in 1991. It was built in Finland and received the Russian equipment. The construction of the ”50 years victory” nuclear icebreaker began in 1989 and is still unfinished. ”It never happened before, as it usually took from 5 to 6 years” he said. Today it would take from 10 to 11 years to design and build a nuclear icebreaker. The nuclear icebreakers lifetime will be over by 2008-2010 and ”ice pause” is possible. ”When the resources of the nuclear icebreakers are exhausted, many Russian ports would not be able to work in winter” believes Ushakov, Rosbalt reported.