President Vladimir Putin connected Wednesday presided implicit the motorboat ceremonial for Russia’s latest nuclear-powered icebreaker, arsenic Moscow aims to grow its beingness successful the Arctic and regenerate markets mislaid to Western sanctions.
“Strengthening the nation’s icebreaker fleet is important to our plans for Arctic improvement and boosting cargo postulation connected the Northern Sea Route,” Putin said via video link.
Russia touts the Northern Sea Route, which stretches immoderate 5,000 kilometers (3,107 miles) betwixt the Barents Sea and the Chuckchi Sea, arsenic an alternate shipping lane betwixt Europe and Asia, claiming it tin shorten transit times by up to 15 days compared to the Suez Canal.
The caller icebreaker, named Chukotka, joins Russia’s fleet of nuclear-powered icebreakers, built to endure utmost Arctic conditions and plow done crystal up to 2.8 meters (9.2 feet) thick. Vessels successful this bid are astir 173 meters long, person a displacement of 33,500 metric tons and an expected work beingness of 40 years.
The Chukotka is acceptable to articulation its predecessors — the Arktika, Sibir and Ural — upon its commissioning successful precocious 2026. Meanwhile, 2 much atomic icebreakers, the Yakutia and the Leningrad, are nether construction, with plans to statesman enactment connected a seventh vessel, the Stalingrad, successful 2025.
“The instauration of these powerful, modern vessels is yet different objection of Russia’s industrial, scientific, human, and technological potential,” Putin said Wednesday. “This is precisely however our full nationalist system should make — connected the instauration of our ain technologies and groundbreaking technological solutions.”
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