During my trip to Murmansk, like everyone else, I visited the nuclear icebreaker Lenin. Therefore, I will describe this vehicle in my multi-photo manner :-)))
Icebreaker Lenin is a three-screw vessel. By architectural type, it is a smooth-deck vessel with moderate sheer, four continuous decks, an elongated superstructure and two masts. In the aft part of the boat deck there is a runway and a hangar for a helicopter. The chimney is missing.
The unusually large size of the mainmast is due to its use for ventilation of the steam generator plant.
The use of atomic energy determined the features of the internal arrangement of the power, residential and service premises of the ship. The hull of the icebreaker is divided by the main transverse watertight bulkheads into twelve compartments.
Two longitudinal bulkheads running from the second bottom to the upper deck form compartments along the sides, in which mainly ballast, fuel and other tanks are located, above the lower deck - various storerooms, service rooms and crew cabins.
The hull of the icebreaker Lenin is significantly different in design from other Russian-built icebreakers. The bottom, sides, inner decks, platforms and the upper deck at the extremities are built according to the transverse system, and the upper deck in the middle part - along the longitudinal system.
Spacing size 800 mm. Intermediate frames are installed along the entire length of the vessel from the second bottom to the living deck. A set of bow and stern ends is fan-shaped; the frames in these areas are located normally to the skin.
The outer skin in the area of the ice belt and the adjacent belts above and below it are made of high-strength steel. The thickness of the ice belt is 36 mm in the middle part, 52 mm in the bow and 44 mm in the aft end.
The stem and stern of the icebreaker are cast-welded. The total weight of the stem is 30 tons, and the stern stem is 86 tons. The icebreaker's rudder is welded and has a sheathing made of sheet steel 40 mm thick. The area of the rudder blade is 18.5 m2. Stock forged from alloy steel with a diameter of 550 mm.
The icebreaker crew is accommodated in single and double cabins. Water heating with air conditioning was used for residential, cultural and community and medical premises on the icebreaker.
Steam heating in the engine room and auxiliary rooms. A powerful automatic refrigeration unit and a large number of provisional storerooms are provided.
The cargo means on the icebreaker are: in the bow - two cargo booms with electric winches with a lifting capacity of 1.5 tf,
in the middle part - a crane with a lifting capacity of 12 tf for servicing the compartment of a nuclear installation;
in the stern - two cranes with a lifting capacity of 3 tf.
The icebreaker is equipped with three dead anchors (one of them is spare) with swivel legs weighing 6 tons each, a stop anchor weighing 2 tons and four ice anchors (two 150 kg each and two 100 kg each). The anchor anchors are retracted into the hawse flush with the skin. Cast anchor chains of caliber 67 mm have a length of 325 m.
In the stern there is a cutout for towing ships close, which is equipped with fenders and rubber-lined fenders. An automatic double-drum towing winch with a pulling force of 40 tf on the main drum and 25 tf on the auxiliary one is installed at the aft end.
The electro-hydraulic steering machine shifts the rudder from side to side in 30 seconds at a vessel speed of 18 knots and one of the two installed pumps is operating. The unsinkability of the icebreaker is ensured by the simultaneous flooding of the two main watertight compartments.
The icebreaker has two lifeboats for 58 people each, two lifeboats for 40 people each, two six-oared yawls, a crew boat and a tugboat. The launching and recovery of lifeboats and boats is carried out with the help of rolling davits.
The power plant of the icebreaker operates according to the following scheme. The heat released in the reactor is used to produce superheated steam in steam generators. The steam is sent to the main turbine generators, from which electricity is supplied to the propulsion motors.
The armatures of the propulsion motors are connected to the propeller shafts. The steam generators are powered by feed pumps operating in parallel, so that in the event of an emergency shutdown of one of the pumps, the others automatically increase the capacity to the required level. They control the entire power plant of the icebreaker from one post.
The biological protection of the nuclear plant guarantees the protection of the icebreaker crew from the effects of radioactive radiation, which are controlled by a special dosimetric system. The control panel of this system is located in the radiation control post.
The main turbine generators are located in two compartments: bow and stern. Each compartment has two active-reactive turbines with a capacity of 11,000 hp each. Each turbine is connected through a gearbox to two double-armor DC generators with a continuous power of 11,500 hp. at a rated voltage of 600 V.
Turbine-generator units feed three propeller two-anchor DC electric motors: the middle one and two onboard ones. The middle engine receives 50% of the power generated by the turbogenerators, while the onboard engines receive 25% each. The power of the medium electric motor is 19,600 hp, and the onboard motors are 9,800 hp each. The propeller shafts of the icebreaker are made of alloyed steel. Middle shaft diameter 740 mm, length 9.2 m, weight 26.8 t; side shaft diameter 712 mm, length 18.4 m, weight 45 tons.
Propellers are four-bladed, with removable blades. The weight of the middle propeller is 27.8 tons, the side propeller is 22.5 tons.
The icebreaker has bow and stern power plants. Three turbogenerators are installed in the bow, two turbogenerators and one backup diesel generator with a capacity of 1000 kW each are installed in the stern. Each turbogenerator consists of an active condensing steam turbine and an alternating current generator. In addition, the ship has two emergency diesel generators.
The nuclear-powered icebreaker project was developed at TsKB-15 (now Iceberg) in 1953-1955 (project No. 92) after the decision to build a nuclear icebreaker was made on November 20, 1953 by the Council of Ministers of the USSR. The chief designer was V. I. Neganov. The nuclear plant was designed under the guidance of I. I. Afrikantov. Hull steel grades AK-27 and AK-28 (almost "stainless steel") was specially developed at the Prometheus Institute for icebreakers.
The ship was laid down in 1956 at the shipyard named after. A. Marty in Leningrad. Chief builder - V. I. Chervyakov.
Launched on December 5, 1957. On September 12, 1959, already from the shipyard of the Admiralty Plant, he went to sea trials under the command of P. A. Ponomarev
On December 3, 1959, it was handed over to the Ministry of the Navy. Since 1960, part of the Murmansk Shipping Company.
It had good ice penetration. In the first 6 years of operation alone, the icebreaker traveled over 82,000 nautical miles and independently navigated more than 400 ships.
The icebreaker "Lenin" worked for 30 years and in 1989 was decommissioned and put into eternal parking in Murmansk.
Now let's move inside. The entrance is free, and at the entrance a group of students of a local sailor has already developed.
The nuclear-powered ship stands at the pontoon berth of the Murmansk seaport.
Moored nearby "Klavdiya Elanskaya"
It provides local transportation.
The atomic icebreaker "Rossiya" is visible in the distance, if I'm not mistaken.
On the other side, such yachts are moored.
Monuments on the opposite bank of the bay.
Time 12 o'clock: forward...
We pass from the ladder to the board.
In the following parts, we will see what is inside it and take a closer look at the wheelhouse.
Original taken from masterok in The largest icebreaker in the world
A nuclear-powered icebreaker is a nuclear-powered vessel built specifically for use in ice-covered waters throughout the year. Thanks to the nuclear installation, they are much more powerful than diesel ones and it is easier for them to conquer frozen bodies of water. Unlike other ships, icebreakers have a clear advantage - they do not need to refuel, which is especially important in ice, where there is no way to get fuel.
It is also unusual that out of 10 nuclear icebreakers existing in the world, all were built and then launched on the territory of the USSR and Russia. Their indispensability was shown by an operation that took place in 1983. About 50 vessels, including several diesel-powered icebreakers, were trapped in the ice in the eastern Arctic. And only with the help of the nuclear-powered ship "Arktika" they were able to free themselves from captivity, delivering the cargo to nearby villages.
The largest icebreaker in the world is the 50 Years of Victory. It was laid down at the Baltic Shipyard in Leningrad in 1989, and four years later it was launched. True, the construction was not completed, but was frozen due to financial troubles. It was only in 2003 that it was decided to resume it, and in February 2007, "50 Years of Victory" began to be tested in the Gulf of Finland, which lasted a couple of weeks. Then he independently went to the home port - the city of Murmansk. Let's take a closer look at the history of the icebreaker:
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50 Years of Victory is the eighth nuclear-powered icebreaker built at the Baltic Shipyard and is currently the largest in the world. The icebreaker is a modernized project of the second series of nuclear-powered icebreakers of the Arktika type. “50 Years of Victory” is an experimental project in many respects. The vessel 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 requirements of Gostekhnadzor. An environmental compartment has also been created, equipped with the latest equipment for the collection and disposal of all waste products of the vessel.
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During the period from 1974 to 1989, a series of second-generation nuclear-powered icebreakers (project 10520 and a modernized project 10521) were built in the Soviet Union. The lead ship of this series - the atomic icebreaker Arktika of project 10520 - was laid down on July 3, 1971, and launched on December 26, 1972, and commissioned on April 25, 1975.
October 4, 1989 in Leningrad, on the slipway of the Baltic Shipyard named after Sergo Ordzhonikidze, an icebreaker of project 10521 was laid down, under the original name "Ural".
And although in the USSR nuclear-powered ships were completely handed over in three to four years, it took the Ural four years only to launch them, due to the then situation in the country's leadership and in the country as a whole.
It was expected that the ship would enter service in the mid-1990s, but due to lack of funding, the construction of the icebreaker was suspended and the huge vessel remained at the pier, only 72% ready.
The Baltic Shipyard was forced to mothball the icebreaker at its own expense in order to preserve the possibility of its completion in the future.
Even the renaming of the icebreaker did not help to resume funding.
On August 4, 1995, on the eve of the visit of the then President of Russia to St. Petersburg and to the enterprise, too, the nuclear-powered ship was renamed "50 Years of Victory".
For many years of useless downtime at the berth of the Baltic Shipyard, several times it was proposed to cut and dispose of the ship, but it literally miraculously avoided this.
A part of its units had its own warranty resource, although the ship did not make a single flight.
In the late 1990s, when partial financing of construction began, work on the icebreaker 50 Let Pobedy was resumed.
On October 31, 2002, government decree No. 1528-r was issued, according to which the completion of the icebreaker "50 Let Pobedy" was planned to be completed in 2003-2005. 2.5 billion rubles were allocated from the state budget to complete the work.
Until 2003, the construction of the icebreaker was financed on a general basis within the framework of the federal targeted investment program, and since 2003 - in accordance with the order of the Government of the Russian Federation dated October 31, 2002 No. 1528-r.
In February 2003, the construction of the icebreaker entered the active phase, after:
- Baltiysky Zavod entered the structure of the shipbuilding assets of the United Industrial Corporation (OPK);
- a contract was signed between Baltiysky Zavod OJSC and the Federal State Unitary Enterprise "Directorate of the State Customer of Maritime Transport Development Programs" for the completion of the vessel;
According to the contract, the financing of the completion of the construction of the nuclear-powered ship in 2003-2005 was to be carried out at the expense of the federal budget. The quality of construction work on the icebreaker was to be controlled by representatives of the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping and the Murmansk Shipping Company.
On August 13, 2004, at a meeting in the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation, it was decided to increase funding for the construction of the icebreaker in the amount of 742.3 million rubles, of which 164 million were planned to be included in the 2005 budget and 578.3 million rubles in the 2006 budget. The need for additional funding was caused by new requirements to ensure nuclear safety in accordance with the requirements of Gosatomnadzor and the performance of work related to the long construction period of the vessel. In particular, funds were needed for the design and manufacture of the latest multi-channel reactor safety systems, as well as for re-examination and revision of equipment and mechanisms.
On September 7, 2004, the icebreaker "50 Years of Victory" was towed to the dock of the Kronstadt Marine Plant. After that, the specialists of the Baltic Shipyard for the first time in the history of domestic shipbuilding carried out docking work on an icebreaker under construction. Previously, docking of nuclear-powered ships was carried out only after several years of work and only at shipbuilding enterprises located in the Murmansk region.
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Taking into account the fact that underwater systems and devices were installed on the icebreaker back in the early 1990s, during the completion of the vessel, it was necessary to check their performance. The most time-consuming operation was the revision of the stern gear, which is the support of the propeller shaft and is designed to prevent the penetration of outboard water into the icebreaker's hull. For its examination, experts dismantled the propeller and propeller shaft. The work at the dock lasted 2 months. For the successful implementation of these works, the plant independently designed and manufactured special equipment. The correct operation of the stern gear was a necessary condition for the start of mooring tests on the icebreaker.
The ship also examined: the right propeller shaft line, bottom-side fittings, systems of pipelines and protectors of bottom fittings, electrical navigation devices, anode units and cathodic protection comparison electrodes. In addition, the specialists of the enterprise carried out washing of the outer skin of the underwater part of the icebreaker, bottom boxes and nozzles of the bottom-on-board fittings in the dock. Dock work was supervised by representatives of the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping and the Murmansk Shipping Company.
At the end of October 2004, after completion of the dock work, the icebreaker was returned to the Baltic Shipyard.
The ship's hull, superstructure and aft mast were fully formed, installation of the main mechanical and electrical equipment was completed.
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On November 31, 2004, a fire broke out on board the icebreaker "50 Years of Victory" moored at the quay wall of the Baltic Shipyard. It started at 08:45 on one of the upper decks where the welders worked. The flames quickly spread across the deck, littered with building materials. A huge smoke screen formed over the icebreaker. The firefighters who arrived on alarm, first of all, began to evacuate the workers, some of whom managed to swallow carbon monoxide. A total of 52 people were rescued from the burning vessel by firefighters. Only after finishing with the evacuation, they began to search for sources of ignition. According to preliminary data, he was on the third and fourth decks, where the builders stored combustible building materials. The total fire area was, according to various estimates, from 50 to 100 square meters. Nevertheless, the extinguishing was carried out according to the third number of complexity (out of five possible) - about 22 fire brigades (112 firefighters) were pulled to the icebreaker. According to firefighters, this was due both to the need for mass evacuation of workers and the fact that ship fires are considered one of the most difficult: strong smoke, complex layout of ship spaces and an abundance of open holds always make it difficult to extinguish them.
At eleven o'clock in the afternoon, firefighters announced that the spread of fire was localized. However, the extinguishing continued until the evening - at 18:00, the icebreaker was still spilling the premises.
The firefighters believed that the cause of the fire was likely the negligence of workers or a short circuit. The version of arson was not even considered in the foreground: according to the participants in the firefighting, the Baltic Shipyard has a very strict access control and it is practically impossible for outsiders to enter the icebreaker.
The threat of radiation contamination was out of the question, since the installation mounted on the icebreaker had not yet been refueled with nuclear fuel.
According to the press service of the Baltic Shipyard, the consequences of the fire will not affect the timing of the delivery of the ship to the customer. But it is much more likely that the icebreaker will not be built on time for financial reasons. Such fears were expressed back in October 2004 at a meeting of the Maritime Council under the government of St. Petersburg by the head of the Federal Agency for Marine and River Transport. According to him, in 2005 the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of the Russian Federation agreed to finance only 10% of the cost of the work.
As a result of the meeting held on September 18, 2005 in Vladivostok on the socio-economic development of the Far East, the head of the Ministry of Transport announced that the 50 Let Pobedy nuclear icebreaker would be completed by the end of 2006.
During the completion of the icebreaker, specialists from the Baltic Shipyard carried out an operation to load nuclear fuel, thanks to which nuclear-powered ships have an almost unlimited cruising range without refueling.
On October 28, 2006, the State Commission signed an act on the readiness of the Baltic Shipyard for the physical launch of the nuclear reactors of the icebreaker "50 Let Pobedy". Reactor installations were developed by FSUE OKBM.
In November 2006, the physical start-up of nuclear reactors took place and they were brought to the energy level of power, after which integrated mooring tests were started.
In 2006 and in the first quarter of 2007, work on the icebreaker was financed at the expense of working capital of OAO Baltiysky Zavod and loans from commercial banks.
On January 17, 2007, the Baltic Shipyard completed comprehensive mooring trials on the nuclear-powered icebreaker 50 Let Pobedy.
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January 31, 2007, the St. Petersburg JSC "Baltic Plant", part of the "United Industrial Corporation", began state sea trials of the nuclear icebreaker "50 Years of Pobedy".
From the water area of the Neva, where maneuvering possibilities are limited for such large ships, the ship was taken out with the help of tugboats. In the seaport of St. Petersburg, the icebreaker was loaded with supplies of fuel, fresh and feed water, after which it entered the Baltic Sea for the first time under its own power.
In open water, the icebreaker was tested for speed and maneuverability. They also checked the serviceability of the navigation and communication systems, the desalination plant, steering, anti-icing and anchoring devices and other equipment that could not be tested offshore.
The tests were carried out under the supervision of the state commission. It included representatives of the Federal Agency for Marine and River Transport, Gostekhnadzor, the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping, the Federal Medical and Biological Agency, OJSC Murmansk Shipping Company, RRC Kurchatov Institute, Federal State Unitary Enterprise OKBM, OJSC Central Design Bureau Iceberg and others. organizations.
On February 17, 2007, state sea trials were successfully completed. The icebreaker showed high maneuverability and reliability. The State Commission confirmed the strict compliance of the quality of the ship's systems and mechanisms with domestic standards and international norms.
On March 23, 2007, JSC "Baltiysky Zavod" handed over to the customer the world's largest icebreaker "50 Let Pobedy". After the official ceremony of signing the act of acceptance and transfer, the state flag of the Russian Federation was hoisted on the ship in a solemn atmosphere.
With the signing of the acceptance certificate, the ship became part of the nuclear icebreaker fleet of Russia, at the same time becoming state property. The Federal Property Management Agency, in turn, by order of the Government of the Russian Federation, transferred the new nuclear-powered ship to the trust management of OJSC Murmansk Shipping Company.
On April 2, 2007, the icebreaker "50 Let Pobedy" left the shipyards in St. Petersburg and entered the Baltic Sea, heading for its permanent home port - Murmansk.
On April 11, 2007, "50 Years of Victory" successfully completed the passage from St. Petersburg, entered the Kola Bay and set up a roadstead in the area of its home port. The solemn ceremony of the meeting took place on the same day on the territory of FSUE Atomflot in Murmansk.
Representatives of the executive and legislative authorities of the city of Murmansk and the Murmansk region, federal executive authorities, veterans and employees of the nuclear fleet of the Murmansk Shipping Company gathered to meet the crew and the world's largest icebreaker.
The captain of the icebreaker reported to the General Director of the Murmansk Shipping Company on the successful completion of the passage and the readiness of the crew to carry out responsible state tasks along the Northern Sea Route and in the Russian Arctic.
The fact that the construction of the icebreaker "50 Let Pobedy" was nevertheless completed, and it arrived at its home port, indicates that the country has finally realized the role and importance of the Northern Sea Route and the Arctic for the realization of its strategic interests, and is starting to restoration of infrastructure.
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The launch of the first working voyage to the Northern Sea Route was scheduled for the end of April 2007.
It is expected that the escort of transport cargo ships along the Northern Sea Route is the first stage of operation of the 50 Years of Victory nuclear-powered icebreaker. At the second stage, the work of the icebreaker will probably be associated with the extraction of hydrocarbon raw materials on the Arctic shelf, the nuclear-powered ship will be engaged in servicing production platforms and escorting transport ships with hydrocarbons in the ice.
In addition, 50 Years of Victory replaced the Arktika nuclear-powered icebreaker, the first icebreaker of this class built. The authorized life of its nuclear power plant ended in 2008. The Arktika icebreaker has worked out 175,000 hours, which is the maximum allowed service life, and in this regard, the commissioning of the new nuclear-powered ship was very timely.
At the end of June 2007, the icebreaker "50 Years of Victory" was in the Barents Sea near Cape Nadezhda of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago, where it was supposed to take two transport ships for escort and guide them through the ice to the Yenisei Bay. In fact, this was the first ice test for a newcomer to the Arctic tracks. Its crew had to check the operation of the nuclear power plant, equipment and mechanisms under sailing conditions in difficult natural conditions. Only after passing this exam could the nuclear-powered ship go to permanent work in the Arctic waters.
On July 03, 2007, the 50 Years of Pobedy nuclear-powered icebreaker successfully completed its first escort of ships heading to the port of Dudinka. Accompanied by the world's largest nuclear-powered icebreaker, the ships covered the ice from Cape Zhelaniya on Novaya Zemlya to the Yenisei Bay. Swimming proceeded normally.
On June 25, 2008, "50 Years of Victory" set off on its first voyage to the North Pole. There were about 100 tourists on board who wished to take part in a two-week excursion tour.
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In March 2008, FSUE "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).
On August 27, 2008, an act was signed in Murmansk on the completion of measures to transfer the icebreaker "50 Let Pobedy" and other ships with a nuclear power plant, as well as nuclear technology service ships from the trust management of OJSC "Murmansk Shipping Company" to the economic management of FSUE "Atomflot" ". It was on this day that the contract for the trust management of the nuclear icebreaker fleet, which was concluded by the government of the Russian Federation with the joint-stock company Murmansk Shipping Company and has been in force since 1998, expired. At this stage, it was considered expedient to transfer federal property to the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom, which performs state functions for the development of the nuclear industry in the Russian Federation.
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The icebreaker "50 Let Pobedy" is a modernized project of the second series of nuclear-powered icebreakers of the "Arktika" type. The icebreaker is equipped with a new generation digital automatic control system and a modern set of means for ensuring nuclear and radiation safety of the nuclear power plant. The nuclear-powered ship is equipped with the Antiterror protection system, equipped with an environmental compartment with the latest equipment for the collection and disposal of waste produced during the operation of the ship.
The length of the vessel is 159 meters, width - 30 meters, total displacement - 25 thousand tons, speed - 18 knots. The maximum ice thickness that the icebreaker can overcome is 2.8 meters. It is equipped with two nuclear power plants. The ship's crew includes 138 people.
PERFORMANCE DATA
Type: nuclear icebreaker
State: Russia
Home port: Murmansk
Class: KM(*) LL1 A
IMO number: 9152959
Callsign: UGYU
Shipyard-manufacturer: JSC "Baltiysky Zavod"
Length: 159.6 m
Width: 30 m
Height: 17.2 m (board height)
Average draft: 11 m
Power point: 2 nuclear reactors
Screws: 3 fixed pitch propellers with 4 removable blades
Displacement: 25 thousand tons
Power: 75,000 liters With.
Maximum speed in clear water: 21 knots
Speed in solid fast ice 2.7 meters thick: 2 knots
Estimated maximum ice thickness: 2.8 m
Swimming autonomy: 7.5 months (by provision)
Crew: 138 people. After a series of cuts, reduced to 106 people
Flag: RF
Mailing address: 183038, Murmansk 580, a/l "50 Years of Victory"
Shipowner: FSUE "Atomflot" of the State Corporation "Rosatom"
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This nuclear-powered icebreaker is a modernized project of the second series of the Arktika-class icebreaker, which includes 6 out of 10 ships built. The thickness of the ice that the floating craft can overcome is 2.8 m. It has many differences from its predecessor, for example, here it was decided to use a spoon-shaped “nose”, which showed itself remarkably well on tests of the prototype of the Canadian icebreaker Kenmar Kigoriyak. In addition, a modernized complex of biological protection means for a nuclear power plant, a digital automatic control system of the latest generation, a special environmental compartment, which is equipped with equipment designed to collect and dispose of all waste products of the floating craft, have been installed here.
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Meanwhile, "50 Years of Victory" is not always engaged in rescuing other ships from captivity. In fact, it is also focused on Arctic cruising. So, you can personally go to the North Pole by paying a certain amount for a ticket. Since there are no passenger cabins as such, tourists are accommodated in the cabins of the ship. But on board there is its own restaurant, swimming pool, sauna, gym.
In the near future, the importance of such icebreakers will only increase. Indeed, in the future, more active development of natural resources that are under the bottom of the Arctic Ocean is planned.
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Navigation on separate sections of the Northern Sea Route lasts only two to four months. The rest of the time the water is covered with ice, the thickness of which sometimes reaches 3 meters. In order not to waste extra fuel and not risk the crew and the ship once again, helicopters or reconnaissance planes are sent from the icebreakers to find an easier way through the polynyas.
Icebreakers are specially painted dark red so that they can be clearly seen in white ice.
The world's largest icebreaker can autonomously cruise in the Arctic Ocean for a year, breaking up ice up to 3 meters thick with its bow, shaped like a spoon.
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Nuclear icebreakers are built only in Russia. Only our country has such an extended contact with the Arctic Ocean. The famous Northern Sea Route, 5600 km long, runs along the northern shores of our country. It starts at the Kara Gate and ends in Providence Bay. For example, if you move from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok, by this sea route, then the distance will be 14,280 km. And if you choose the path through the Suez Canal, then the distance will be more than 23 thousand km.
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Let's take a look at the insides of the Icebreaker.
Nuclear-powered icebreakers can stay on the Northern Sea Route for a long time without needing refueling. At present, the operating fleet includes the nuclear-powered ships Rossiya, Sovetsky Soyuz, Yamal, 50 Let Pobedy, 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 a specified 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, the 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 ships. 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.
