The two icebreakers are of strategic importance for Russia, the Russian president said
The Russian president Vladimir Putin showcased Russia’s Arctic power today during a ceremony to launch two nuclear-powered icebreakers that will ensure year-round navigation in the western Arctic.
Putin participating from the Kremlin via video link at the launch ceremony in the former imperial capital of St Petersburg in the north Russiasaid that these icebreakers are of strategic importance for the country.
“Both icebreakers were built as part of a large serial program and are part of our large-scale, systematic work to re-equip and renew the domestic icebreaker fleet, to strengthen Russia’s position as an Arctic superpower”Putin said.
THE Arctic becomes of great strategic importance with climate change, as melting ice opens up new sea lanes. Vast oil and natural gas resources exist in Russian-owned Arctic regions, including a liquefied natural gas facility on the Yamal Peninsula.
Putin smiled as the nuclear-powered icebreaker Yakutia launched into the water near the docks and stood as the Russian national anthem was played and the Russian flag was raised aboard the Ural icebreaker, which will begin operations in December.
The 173.3-meter icebreaker Yakutia, with a displacement exceeding 33,540 tons, can break ice up to three meters thick. It will be commissioned in 2024.
Two other icebreakers of the same series, the Arktika and Sibir are already in operation and one more, Chukotka, is planned for 2026.
Putin said that a super-powerful 209-meter-long nuclear icebreaker named Rossiya with a displacement exceeding 71,380 tons will be ready in 2027. The icebreaker in question will be able to break through four-meter-thick ice.
“These (icebreakers) are needed for the study and development of the Arctic, to guarantee safety and sustainable navigation in this region, to increase the passage of ships along the Northern Sea Route,” Putin said.
“The development of this most important transport corridor will allow Russia to more fully unleash its export potential and create efficient supply chain routes, including to Southeast Asia.”
Putin, who came to power in 1999 promising to end the chaos caused by the collapse of the Soviet Union, has quietly boosted Russia’s presence in the Arctic, where Russia has more than 24,000 kilometers of coastline stretching from the Barents Sea to the of Okhotsk.
Since 2005, Russia has reopened dozens of Soviet-era military bases in the Arctic, modernized its navy and developed new hypersonic missiles designed to evade US sensors and defense systems. Arctic experts say it will take the West at least 10 years to catch up with the Russian military in the region if it makes such a choice.
RES-EMP
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