Tenth newest icebreaker reactor for NSR is ready

Rosatom State Corporation completed the production of the second RITM-200 reactor for the universal nuclear icebreaker Chukotka of the 22220 project.

A total of 10 reactors for Arktika, Sibir, Ural, Yakutia and Chukotka nuclear icebreakers have been manufactured since 2012. The first three vessels have already been put into operation and escort caravans of ships successfully in the western part of the Arctic.

‘RITM-200 reactors have proven themselves on our new universal nuclear-powered icebreakers that has made navigation on the Northern Sea Route more efficient. Similar reactors will also be installed on the fifth and the sixth serial universal nuclear-powered icebreakers, the decision to build which has already been made by the Government of the Russian Federation. In the future the same reactors will become the heart of floating nuclear power plants that will supply energy to the Baimskaya copper zone in Chukotka, as well as to the onshore small nuclear power plants in Yakutia,’ Alexey Likhachev, Rosatom State Corporation Director General, said.

The RITM-200 reactor weighs 147.5 tons and has a thermal capacity of 175 MW. It is twice lighter, 1.5 times more compact and 25 MW more powerful than previously used ship reactors. This has improved the nuclear-powered ships’ speed and ice-crossing characteristics – the new-generation universal icebreakers are capable of conquering ice thickness up to 3 meters.

‘The RITM-200 is the most modern and productive ship reactor unit in the world. Several enterprises of the Engineering Division worked on its development. As a result, the speed and ice-crossing ability of icebreakers (that are important characteristics for ships in conditions of increasing cargo traffic) have been increased. The gained references will allow us to cope with other tasks in the development of the Russian Arctic,’ Igor Kotov, General Director of Rosatom’s mechanical engineering division Atomenergomash, commented.

Power plants for universal nuclear icebreakers consist of two RITM-200 reactors. The first of them for the Chukotka icebreaker was already delivered to the shipyard at the end of October. The Chukotka icebreaker is the fourth serial universal nuclear-powered icebreaker of the 22220 project. The ship is planned to be commissioned in 2026.

The 22220 project icebreakers are the most powerful and modern in the world and due to their increased width (34 meters) the vessels are capable of carrying tankers with a displacement of up to 100,000 tons alone in the Arctic. This series’s ships are able to change in draft so they sail both offshore and in shallow water.

These vessels successfully operate on the NSR due to their unique characteristics and ensure safe navigation along this Arctic route. This new corridor provides such advantages as shorter length (vs traditional southern logistics corridors), safety of cargo transportation, absence of bottlenecks and queues when passing the route.

Rosatom’s nuclear icebreakers are those that will contribute to the opening of year-round navigation in the eastern sector of the NSR water area as the fleet is being upgraded – five more nuclear icebreakers are planned to be constructed till 2030. Trial winter voyages in this part of the route have already succeeded so in the near future it is planned to ensure continuous cargo delivery in both parts of the NSR.

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Also published on Medium.