Sibir (2017 icebreaker)

Sibir (Russian: Сибирь; literally: Siberia) is a Russian Project 22220 nuclear-powered icebreaker. Built by Baltic Shipyard in Saint Petersburg, the vessel was laid down in 2015, launched in 2017, and delivered in December 2021.[6]

History
Russia
NameSibir (Сибирь)
NamesakeRussian for Siberia
OperatorFSUE Atomflot
BuilderBaltic Shipyard, Saint Petersburg
CostRUB 84.4 billion (for two vessels)[1]
Yard number05707
Laid down26 May 2015[2]
Launched22 September 2017[3]
Sponsored byTatyana Golikova[4]
Completed
  • 2018 (contract date)[5]
  • 24 December 2021 (delivery)[6]
In serviceJanuary 2022–[7]
Identification
StatusIn service
General characteristics [9][10][11]
Class and typeProject 22220 icebreaker
Tonnage
Displacement32,747 t (32,230 long tons)
Length172.7 m (567 ft)
Beam34 m (112 ft)
Height51.25 m (168 ft)[12]
Draft
  • 10.5 m (34 ft) (dwl)
  • 9.00 m (30 ft) (minimum; achievable)[13]
  • 8.65 m (28 ft) (minimum; official)
  • 8.50 m (28 ft) (minimum; design)
Depth15.2 m (50 ft)
Ice classRMRS Icebreaker9
Installed power
Propulsion
  • Nuclear-turbo-electric
  • Three shafts (3 × 20 MW)
Speed
  • 22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph)
  • 1.5–2 knots (2.8–3.7 km/h; 1.7–2.3 mph) in 2.8 m (9 ft) ice
Endurance
  • 7 years (reactor fuel)
  • 6 months (provisions)[14]
Crew75
Aviation facilitiesHelideck and hangar

Development and construction

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Background

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In the late 1980s,[15] the Russian research institutes and design bureaus developed a successor for the 1970s Arktika-class nuclear-powered icebreakers as part of a wider icebreaker fleet renewal program initiated shortly after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.[16] The new 60-megawatt icebreaker, referred to using a type size series designation LK-60Ya,[note 1] would feature a so-called dual-draft functionality which would allow the vessel to operate in shallow coastal areas after de-ballasting.[17] Although the preliminary designs had been developed almost two decades earlier, the LK-60Ya design was finalized in 2009 as Project 22220 by Central Design Bureau "Iceberg"[18] and the construction of the first vessel was awarded to Saint Petersburg-based Baltic Shipyard in August 2012.[19] Three additional contracts in May 2014, August 2019 and February 2023 have increased the number of Project 22220 icebreakers under construction or on order to seven.[20][21][22]

Construction

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Sibir under construction at Baltic Shipyard in December 2018.

The tender for construction of two additional Project 22220 nuclear-powered icebreakers, referred to as the first and second serial vessels of the project, was announced at the keel laying ceremony of the lead ship Arktika on 5 November 2013.[5] On 8 May 2014, the 84.4 billion ruble (about US$2.4 billion)[1] contract for two vessels was awarded to the Saint Petersburg -based Baltic Shipyard, the only company whose bid had been accepted.[23]

The keel of the second Project 22220 icebreaker was laid on 26 May 2015.[2] After the launching of Arktika in June and in order to make way for the keel laying of the third icebreaker,[24] the partially-assembled hull weighing about 3,500 tonnes (3,400 long tons) was moved about 125 metres (410 ft) along the slipway to the position where final hull construction would take place.[25] The icebreaker was launched as Sibir, Russian for Siberia, on 22 September 2017.[3] Previously, the name had been used on the second Arktika-class icebreaker that was in service in 1977–1992.

Initially, the delivery of the second Project 22220 nuclear-powered icebreaker was scheduled for 2018,[5] but this had to be postponed due to problems with the delivery of the steam turbines from a domestic manufacturer.[26]

Sibir left for first sea trials on 16 November 2021[27] and returned to Saint Petersburg on 30 November.[28] The second sea trials were completed in December 2021.[29] While some minor malfunctions were discovered,[30] the icebreaker was delivered to Atomflot on 24 December 2021.[6]

Career

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Sibir left Saint Petersburg on 13 January 2022 and, after a flag-raising ceremony in Murmansk on 25 January 2022,[31] headed to the Kara Sea and Gulf of Ob to escort ships through the ice.[7]

Design

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Sibir is 172.7 metres (567 ft) long overall and has a maximum beam of 34 metres (112 ft). Designed to operate efficiently both in shallow Arctic river estuaries as well as along the Northern Sea Route, the draught of the vessel can be varied between about 9 and 10.5 metres (30 and 34 ft) by taking in and discharging ballast water, with displacement up to 32,747 tonnes (32,230 long tons).[9][10][13][11]

Sibir has a nuclear-turbo-electric powertrain. The onboard nuclear power plant consists of two 175 MWt RITM-200 pressurized water reactors fueled by up to 20% enriched Uranium-235[32] and two 36 MWe turbogenerators.[33][34][35] The propulsion system follows the classic polar icebreaker pattern with three 6.2-metre (20 ft) four-bladed propellers driven by 20-megawatt (27,000 hp) electric motors.[36][37] With a total propulsion power of 60 megawatts (80,000 hp), Sibir is designed to be capable of breaking 2.8 metres (9 ft) thick level ice at a continuous speed of 1.5–2 knots (2.8–3.7 km/h; 1.7–2.3 mph) at full power when operating in deep water at design draught.[10]

Notes

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  1. ^ The type size series designation "LK-60Ya" (Russian: ЛК-60Я) comes from the Russian language word for "icebreaker" (Russian: ледокол, romanizedledokol), propulsion power (60 megawatts), and the first letter of the Russian word for "nuclear" (Russian: ядерное, romanizedyadernoye).

References

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  1. ^ a b "Baltic Shipyard building nuclear icebreaker". VEUS e.V. 24 September 2014. Archived from the original on 12 August 2021. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Keel laying ceremony of the nuclear-powered icebreaker takes place at the Baltic Shipyard". PortNews. 27 May 2015. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Baltiysky Zavod launches Sibir, first serial nuclear-powered icebreaker of Project 22220 (photo)". PortNews. 22 September 2017. Archived from the original on 12 August 2022. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
  4. ^ "First series all-purpose nuclear icebreaker Sibir floated out". Rosatom. 22 September 2017. Archived from the original on 7 June 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  5. ^ a b c "Atomflot announces tender for construction of two serial nuclear icebreakers". PortNews. 5 November 2013. Archived from the original on 12 August 2022. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
  6. ^ a b c "Baltiysky Zavod shipyard delivers Sibir, first serial icebreaker of Project 22220, to Atomflot". PortNews. 24 December 2021. Archived from the original on 24 December 2021. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
  7. ^ a b "Атомоход проекта 22220 «Сибирь» вышел из Санкт-Петербурга в порт Мурманск" (in Russian). PortNews. 13 January 2022. Archived from the original on 13 January 2022. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  8. ^ "Sibir (9774422)". Equasis. Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
  9. ^ a b "Универсальный атомный ледокол проекта 22220" (in Russian). Rosatomflot. Archived from the original on 26 May 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  10. ^ a b c "Multipurpose nuclear icebreaker project 22220". United Shipbuilding Corporation. Archived from the original on 29 June 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  11. ^ a b "Sibir (997031)". Register of ships. Russian Maritime Register of Shipping. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  12. ^ "Как ледокол "Арктика" готовился к ходовым испытаниям" (in Russian). Sudostroenie.info. 15 December 2019. Archived from the original on 16 December 2019. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  13. ^ a b "Испытание Дудинкой. «Сибирь» поборола лишний вес" (in Russian). Fontanka.ru. 2 February 2022. Archived from the original on 2 February 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  14. ^ "Ледокол "Арктика" готов на 60%" (in Russian). Ruselprom. Archived from the original on 12 April 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  15. ^ Tsoy, L.G. (2012), "Не разучились ли наши судостроители проектировать ледоколы?", Морской флот (in Russian) (5)
  16. ^ Tsoy, L.G.; Stoyanov, I.A.; Mikhailichenko, V.V.; Livshits, S.G. (1995), "Perspective types of Arctic icebreakers and their principal characteristics" (PDF), Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Port and Ocean Engineering under Arctic Conditions, 1995 (POAC'95), vol. 1, pp. 13–26, archived (PDF) from the original on 30 July 2021, retrieved 24 December 2019
  17. ^ Tsoy, L.G. (1994), "New generation Arktika class nuclear icebreaker feasibility study", Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Ships and Marine Structures in Cold Regions, 1994 (ICETECH'95), pp. P1–P8
  18. ^ "Largest icebreaker construction now underway". The Motorship. 26 January 2014. Archived from the original on 12 August 2021. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  19. ^ "Baltic Shipyard to build new large nuclear-powered icebreaker (Project 22220 LC-60YA)". Navy Recognition. 7 August 2012. Archived from the original on 19 November 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  20. ^ "Baltiysky Shipyard to build three new icebreakers by 2020". Barents Observer. 8 May 2014. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  21. ^ "Russia's ATOMFLOT Orders 4th & 5th Project 22220 Nuclear-Powered Icebreakers". Naval News. 11 August 2019. Archived from the original on 30 January 2023. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  22. ^ "Росатомфлот заключил контракт на строительство пятого и шестого серийных универсальных атомных ледоколов". Rosatomflot (in Russian). 3 February 2023. Archived from the original on 3 February 2023. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  23. ^ "Baltiysky Shipyard awarded no-bid contract for construction of two nuclear icebreakers of project 22220". PortNews. 8 May 2014. Archived from the original on 25 December 2019. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
  24. ^ "Hull of the Siberia, the second icebreaker of project 22220, shifted to a new position at Baltiysky Zavod shipyard". Navigator Magazine. 1 July 2016. Archived from the original on 28 December 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  25. ^ "Hull of the Siberia, first serial icebreaker of project 22220, shifted to a new position at Baltiysky Zavod shipyard". PortNews. 28 June 2016. Archived from the original on 12 August 2022. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
  26. ^ "Russia's Rosatomflot Launches Third New Nuclear Icebreaker". High North News. 28 May 2019. Archived from the original on 9 June 2023. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
  27. ^ "Baltiysky Zavod sends nuclear-powered icebreaker Sibir for sea trials". PortNews. 17 November 2021. Archived from the original on 19 November 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  28. ^ "Первый серийный атомный ледокол проекта 22220 «Сибирь» вернулся в Санкт-Петербург с ходовых испытаний в акватории Финского залива" (in Russian). Атомная энергия 2.0. 30 November 2021. Archived from the original on 1 December 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  29. ^ "First serial icebreaker of Project 22220, Sibir, completed final phase of shipbuilder's sea trials". PortNews. 21 December 2021. Archived from the original on 24 December 2021. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  30. ^ "В рамках ходовых испытаний ледокола «Сибирь» проекта 22220 обнаружены сбои – ФГУП «Атомфлот»" (in Russian). PortNews. 24 December 2021. Archived from the original on 24 December 2021. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
  31. ^ "На ледоколе "Сибирь" поднят Государственный флаг РФ" (in Russian). Sudostroenie.info. 25 January 2022. Archived from the original on 25 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  32. ^ Lobner, Peter. "Marine Nuclear Power: 1939 – 2018" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 April 2022. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  33. ^ "Serving the nuclear machine building industry since 1945" (PDF). JSC "Afrikantov OKBM". Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 January 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  34. ^ "Kirovsky Zavod Will Manufacture a Steam-Turbine Plant for the World's Largest Nuclear-Powered Ice-Breaker". Kirovsky Zavod. 27 August 2013. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  35. ^ "Турбогенератор РУСЭЛПРОМА установили на атомный ледокол" (in Russian). Ruselprom. Archived from the original on 30 November 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  36. ^ "Электродвигатели "Русэлпрома" погружены на ледокол "Сибирь"" (in Russian). Ruselprom. Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  37. ^ ""Звездочка" изготовила лопасти гребных винтов для головного атомного ледокола" (in Russian). TASS. 20 April 2016. Archived from the original on 19 November 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2020.