MOSCOW, March 27 Rosatom is studying the possibilities of attracting the competencies of shipyards from China and Turkey to build icebreakers in Russia, including non-nuclear ones, the Deputy Head of the Directorate said in an interview Northern Sea Route State Corporation Maxim Kulinko.
Given that Project 22220 nuclear-powered icebreakers have already «proven themselves well» on the Northern Sea Route, a «serious study» is underway on the question of what additional icebreakers need to be built based on the prospect of cargo traffic on the NSR of 150 million tons by 2030 year, Kulinko noted.
“Today we have three key consumers of icebreaking services. These are Norilsk Nickel, Novatek and Rosneft. Each, taking into account the fact that they are implementing large investment projects in the coastal area of the NSR, sees the need to build two non-nuclear icebreakers for their projects. And based on the geographical features of the implementation of projects and the logistics of exporting products, there is a discussion of what characteristics the new icebreakers should have,» he explained.
«If you explain what is called on the fingers, then the width of the icebreaker's hull and the width of the channel that it must lay in the ice is a key aspect. Because each investor plans his vessels for the channel that the icebreaker can lay «, — added the source of the agency.
The second aspect is the power and range of the icebreakers, Kulinko noted.
«If we say that these icebreakers should not be linear, this is one situation. If we say that they should be linear and lay channels eastward of the NSR, then this imposes appropriate technical requirements for autonomy, and for fuel supply, and for the crew and for everything else,» he said.
February 8, 11:54
According to Kulinko, the prospects for merging Rosneft and Nornickel are currently being studied their efforts and four icebreakers of a single project LK-40 will be built.
“They can be of a non-nuclear type. In any case, colleagues are satisfied with the characteristics that can largely be taken from current nuclear-powered icebreakers and which can be built at the Zvezda shipbuilding complex in Primorye. As for Novatek, we are with him We are also actively discussing,» the source added.
«Thanks to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, which is actively involved in this work. The possibilities of both domestic industry and the possibility of attracting the competencies of foreign shipyards are being explored so that these icebreakers are built at domestic facilities,» Kulinko said.
According to him, this is «Turkey, China». «Both countries have competencies. Both countries, at our request, provided their proposals,» he explained.
But it is important to understand the economics and timing of the construction of icebreakers in order to have a sufficient icebreaker «fist» by 2030, which would allow reaching the targets for the transportation of goods along the Northern Sea Route, Kulinko emphasized.