The Chukotka icebreaker was designed, laid down, and built under Project 22220. It is the largest and most advanced icebreaker in the world, and it is nuclear-powered. It was launched on November 7, 2024, during a ceremony that took place at the Baltic Shipyard, in Saint Petersburg, Russia. This 174-m long ship will be on sea trials for several months, and the naval engineers estimate she will be commissioned to be part of the Russian Navy in the Spring of 2025. In the last few years, the Kremlin gave the Arctic Sea navigation great importance for the transport of goods and supplies to the different bases and towns in northern Russia.
The Project 22220, Chukotka, features two powerful nuclear reactors, which generate 60 megawatts (MW). They provide pressurized steam to the turbines and power to the electrical motors. The icebreaker is propelled by two shafts. The hull at the bow section of the ship is so strong that she can break through up to 3-m thick of ice without getting stuck. The lead ship the Project 22220 class is Arktika, which was the first one launched in 2013. She will sail between the port of Provideniya in the Far East, near Alaska, to Murmansk, near the Norwegian border, stopping at different ports.
Specifications
Type: nuclear-powered icebreaker
Country: Russia
Displacement: 33,500 tons
Length: 174 m
Beam: 34 m
Draft: 10.5 m
Propulsion System: two RITM-200 nuclear reactors, generating 60 MW, with two shafts.
Maximum Speed: 35 knots in open sea without ice.
Compliment: 54 sailors and officers.
Below, the official ceremony of the launching of the Chukotka
The mage shows the technical characteristics of this powerful icebreaker.
