On October 12, the leading universal nuclear-powered icebreaker Arktika finished its voyage from St. Petersburg to the port of registry in Murmansk. The ship is moored at the berths of Rosatom State Corporation’s FSUE Atomflot base. The 22220 project nuclear-powered vessel covered about 4800 nautical miles in 21 days.
“During the passage, we reached the Geographic North Pole to obtain the maximum amount of information about the operation of a nuclear icebreaker in ice conditions, – noted Konstantin Knyazevsky, Deputy General Director for Fleet Construction - Head of the FSUE Atomflot Representative Office in St. Petersburg. – The obtained results confirmed design data. Operating at 50 percent of its power capacity, the nuclear icebreaker overcame all the ice floes met in the polar region. This was achieved using the unique contours of the ship's hull lines.”
The Arktika’s trial crew tested the operation of the propeller-rudder complex and the ship's electric propulsion system in ice fields of various thickness.
The icebreaker left the outfitting quay of OJSC Baltic Shipyard in St. Petersburg for the port of registry in Murmansk on September 22. On October 3, at 18:00 Moscow time, the ship reached the Geographic North Pole. The formal ceremony of the raising of the Russian Federation flag on board of the ship is scheduled for October 21, 2020.
