First escort by nuclear-powered icebreaker Sibir in the Yenisey river
On 01 February the first serial multi-purpose nuclear-powered icebreaker Sibir completed escort of MV Terskiy bereg in the water area of the port of Dudinka. This is the first operational voyage of the nuclear-powered icebreaker since it was put into operation.
“This is the first time when a nuclear-powered icebreaker of project 22220 enters the Yenisey Bay and operates in the river in shallow water”, Leonid Irlitsa, the First Deputy Director General – Director for Shipping in Atomflot, said. “The vessel has confirmed that she is able to operate as effectively in open sea as and in shallow water. The ice thickness in the Yenisey Bay reached 1.5 meters, but it did not prevent the nuclear-powered icebreaker from providing a commercial escort speed”.
On 28 January the nuclear-powered icebreaker Sibir joined vessels Turukhan and Terskiy bereg in the Barents Sea to escort them to the port of Dudinka. At the entrance to the Yenisei Bay, the nuclear-powered icebreaker left MV Turukhan, and escorted MV Terskiy bereg to the mouth of the Yenisey River.
According to Oleg Schapin, the captain of the nuclear-powered icebreaker Sibir, the crew is now getting to know the vessel, but already sees the potential of the nuclear-powered icebreaker which is to be unlocked.
“I am satisfied with the icebreaker,” Oleg Schapin said. “Compared to the nuclear-powered icebreaker 50 Let Pobedy, Sibir has better maneuvering characteristics, and the icebreaking capacity is amazing. We started the operational voyage immediately after the flag-raising ceremony, and the icebreaker works flawlessly, although the crew is just getting used to the vessel, testing her out.”
In the coming days, the multi-function nuclear-powered icebreaker Sibir will get back to Turukhan for further escort of the vessel to the port of Dudinka. After that, the nuclear-powered icebreaker will continue her operation in the Ob-Yenisei region of the Kara Sea.