Russia certainly has no shortage of icebreakers at their disposal. They have a fleet of diesel-powered icebreakers, and a couple of nuclear icebreakers. Why would they want more? Well, I am not sure of the answer to that question, but they have recently placed an order for something the world has never seen before.
Pretty soon Russia is going to be the proud owner of the largest Nuclear-Powered Icebreaking Vessel. It will measure 558 feet long, and come complete with a dual-reactor. It is a full 46 feet longer than anything else in the fleet, and a dozen feet wider too. It is powered by two 60-megawatt water reactors. This really is one hell of a beast.
If you are keeping up to date with technology then you will be well aware that this isn’t the first nuclear-powered vessel from Russia. They already have six nuclear powered icebreakers. This big one will be built by Rosatomflot, the builder of the rest of the fleet. At the same time they are also looking into building a floating nuclear power station, it will incorporate the same water reactors as this icebreaker.
So if they already have an icebreaker, why get another one? Well, apart from being bigger and more powerful, it is able to alter its draught. Basically this means it can change the depth it is below the water line, anywhere from 28 to 35 feet. As a result, this means it will be able to smash through ice anywhere in the world.
How much is it going to cost? $1.1 billion is the answer to this. The reason is down to climate change, and oil. Basically, Russia wants to reach Oil which was previously unreachable in the artic. As this machine wouldn’t need refuelling for 7 years, it is going to be incredibly economical.
