Nuclear icebreaker Yamal on its way to the North Pole in August 2001

A nuclear powered icebreaker is a purpose-built ship for use in waters continuously covered with ice. Icebreakers are ships capable of cruising on ice-covered water by breaking through the ice with their strong, heavy, steel bows. Nuclear powered icebreakers are far more powerful than their diesel powered counterparts, and have been constructed by Russia primarily to aid shipping in the frozen Arctic waterways in the north of Siberia. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1280x960, 581 KB) Nuclear icebreaker Yamal on its way to the North Pole, carrying 100 tourists August 2001 File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Nuclear powered icebreaker... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1280x960, 581 KB) Nuclear icebreaker Yamal on its way to the North Pole, carrying 100 tourists August 2001 File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Nuclear powered icebreaker... Russian nuclear icebreaker Yamal on a 1994 joint expedition with the NSF The large, nuclear-powered, Russian icebreaker Yamal is the youngest of five in the Arktika class. ... US Coast Guard icebreakers near McMurdo Station, February 2002 Icebreaker Polarstern An icebreaker is a special purpose ship designed to move and navigate through ice-covered marine environments. ... Italian ship-rigged vessel Amerigo Vespucci in New York Harbor, 1976 A ship is a large, sea-going watercraft. ... Snowflakes by Wilson Bentley, 1902 Ice is the name given to any one of the 14 known solid phases of water. ... Rudolf Christian Karl Diesel (1858-1913), inventor of the diesel engine. ... The red line indicates the 10°C isotherm in July, commonly used to define the Arctic region border Satellite image of the Arctic surface The Arctic is the region around the Earths North Pole, opposite the Antarctic region around the South Pole. ... Siberian Federal District (darker red) and the broadest definition of Siberia (red) arctic northeast Siberia Udachnaya pipe Siberia (Russian: , Sibir; Tatar: ) is a vast region of Russia constituting almost all of Northern Asia and comprising a large part of the Euro-Asian Steppe. ...

During the winter, the ice along the northern seaways varies in thickness from 1.2 to 2.0 metres (3.9 to 6.5 feet). The ice in central parts of the Arctic Ocean is on average 2.5 metres (8.2 ft) thick. Nuclear-powered icebreakers can force through this ice at speeds up to 10 knots (19 km/h). In ice-free waters the maximum speed of the nuclear-powered icebreakers is as much as 21 knots (35 km/h). Winter is one of the four seasons of temperate zones. ... The metre, or meter (U.S.), is a measure of length. ... A foot (plural: feet or foot;[1] symbol or abbreviation: ft or, sometimes, ′ – a prime) is a unit of length, in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... A knot is a unit of speed, abbreviated kt or kn. ... Kilometres per hour (American spelling: kilometers per hour) is a unit of both speed (scalar) and velocity (vector). ...

Uses of nuclear-powered icebreakers

The nuclear ice breakers of the Arktika (Arctic) design are used to force through the ice for the benefit of cargo ships and other vessels along the northern seaway. The northern seaway comprises the eastern part of the Barents Sea, the Petchora Sea, the Kara Sea, the Laptev Sea and the Eastern Siberia Sea to the Bering Strait. Important ports on the northern seaway are, among others, Dikson, Tiksi, and Pevek. The Arktika class icebreaker is a class of nuclear powered icebreaker operated by the Russian Murmansk Shipping Company. ... Location of the Barents Sea. ... The Kara Sea (Russian: Ка́рское мо́ре) is part of the Arctic Ocean (in the area sometimes called the Arctic Mediterranean Sea) off northern Siberia, bound by the Kara Strait (West, connecting to the Barents Sea) and the Severnaya Zemlya Islands and the Northern Land Archipelago (East, and the Laptev Sea). ... A map showing the location of the Laptev Sea. ... For other uses, see Bering Strait (disambiguation). ... The Yenisei watershed, Lake Baikal, and the settlements of Dikson, Dudinka, Turukhansk, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk Dikson (Russian: ) is a closed urban-type settlement in Krasnoyarsk Krai. ... Tiksi Tiksi, on the Laptev Sea, Arctic Ocean Murmansk, Archangelsk, Dikson, Tiksi, on the Arctic Ocean Tiksi is a port town located on Russias Arctic Ocean coast. ... Pevek and other Arctic Ocean Seaports Pevek is a city in north-east Russia situated by the coast of the Arctic Ocean. ...

Two nuclear-powered icebreakers, NS Vaigach and NS Taimyr, have been built for shallow waters and are usually used on the river Yenisei to Dikson, where they break through the ice followed by cargo ships with lumber from Igarka and cargo ships with ore and metals from the Norilsk Company's port Dudinka. These nuclear powered icebreakers can also be used as fireboats. The Yenisei (Енисе́й) is the greatest river system flowing to the Arctic Ocean, and the fifth longest river in the world. ... Dudinka and Dikson on the Yenisei River estuary The Yenisei watershed, Lake Baikal, and the cities of Dikson, Dudinka, Turukhansk, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk Dudinka (Russian: ) is a town and the administrative center of Taymyria Autonomous District in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. ...

The icebreakers have also been used for a number of scientific expeditions in the Arctic. On August 17, 1977, the NS Arktika was the first surface vessel in the world to reach the North Pole. Since 1989, some icebreakers have been used for Arctic tourism cruises. August 17 is the 229th day of the year (230th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ... The NS Arktika was the first surface ship to reach the North Pole on August 17, 1977. ... North Pole Scenery When not otherwise qualified, the term North Pole usually refers to the Geographic North Pole – the northernmost point on the surface of the Earth, where the Earths axis of rotation intersects the Earths surface. ...

Russian nuclear icebreakers

In all, ten civilian nuclear powered vessels have been built in Russia. Nine of these are icebreakers, and one is a container ship with an ice-breaking bow. All nuclear-powered icebreakers of the NS Arktika design have been built at the Admiralty Shipyard in St. Petersburg. The NS Vaigach and NS Taimyr were built at the Helsinki New Shipyard in Finland and then brought to Russia for installation of the reactors and steam propulsion systems. The Admiralty Shipyards is one of the oldest and largest shipyards in Russia, located in Saint Petersburg. ... Aker Finnyards is a Finnish shipbuilding company. ...

Icebreaker Lenin Lenin was the first nuclear surface ship in the world. ... Year 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... USS Wisconsin is one of three Iowa class battleships opened to the public as a museum, and one of two Iowa class battleships maintained in the US Mothball fleet. ... The NS Arktika was the first surface ship to reach the North Pole on August 17, 1977. ... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ... 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Sevmorput is a nuclear powered merchant vessel constructed in the Soviet Union. ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Russian nuclear icebreaker Yamal on a 1994 joint expedition with the NSF The large, nuclear-powered, Russian icebreaker Yamal is the youngest of five in the Arktika class. ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... NS 50 Years Since Victory or 50 Years Anniversary of Victory (Russian name 50 Let Pobedy, Russian: ) is a Russian Arktika class nuclear powered icebreaker, the biggest in the world as of 2007. ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD (or CE) era. ...

Lenin class

Main article: Soviet icebreaker Lenin

At its launch in 1957 the icebreaker NS Lenin was both the world's first nuclear powered surface ship and the first nuclear powered civilian vessel. Lenin was put into ordinary operation in 1959. Lenin had two nuclear accidents, the first in 1965, and the second in 1967. The second accident resulted in one of the three OK-150 reactors being damaged beyond repair. All three reactors were removed, and replaced by two OK-900 reactors; the ship returned to service in 1970. The Lenin was taken out of operation in November 1989 and laid up at Atomflot, the base for nuclear powered icebreakers, in the Murmansk Fjord. Conversion to a museum ship was scheduled to be completed during 2005. Icebreaker Lenin Lenin was the first nuclear surface ship in the world. ... Year 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Pathways from airborne radioactive contamination to man This is a list of notable accidents involving nuclear material. ... The OK-150 reactor and its successor, the OK-900 reactor are Soviet marine nuclear fission reactors used to power ships at sea. ... The OK-150 reactor and its successor, the OK-900 reactor are Soviet marine nuclear fission reactors used to power ships at sea. ... USS Wisconsin is one of three Iowa class battleships opened to the public as a museum, and one of two Iowa class battleships maintained in the US Mothball fleet. ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Arktika class

Arktika class icebreakers are the bulk of the Russian nuclear icebreaker fleet; six of Russia's ten nuclear civilian ships are Arktikas. Since they have been built over a period of thirty years, there is a fair bit of variation between ships of the class; thus specifications are listed as a range of values. In general, the newer ships are larger, faster, and require smaller crews.

Specifications:

• Length: 148 m to 159 m (approximately 136 m at the waterline)
• Beam: 30 m (28 m at the waterline)
• Draft: approximately 11.08 m.
• Height (keel to masthead): approximately 55 m
• Displacement: 23,000 to 25,000 tons
• Maximum speed: 18 to 22 knots
• Cruising speed: approximately 18 to 20 knots
• Crew: 138 to over 200
• Passengers: approximately 100
• Reactors: 2 OK-900A, 171 megawatt each
• Propulsion: 3 propellers totalling approximately 75,000 hp
• Maximum Ice Thickness: 2 to 2.8 m
• Endurance: 7.5 months at sea, 4 years between refuelings

Arktika-class icebreakers have a double hull, with the outer hull being approximately 48 mm thick at the ice-breaking areas and 25 mm thick elsewhere. There is water ballast between the inner and outer hulls which can be shifted to aid icebreaking. Icebreaking is also assisted by an air bubbling system which can deliver 24 m³/s of water from jets 9 m below the surface. Some ships have polymer coated hulls to reduce friction. Arktika-class ships can break ice while making way either forwards or backwards. These ships must cruise in cold water, in order to cool their reactors. As a result, they cannot pass through the tropics to undertake voyages in the Southern hemisphere. Although they have two reactors, normally only one is used to provide power, with the other being maintained in a standby mode. The OK-150 reactor and its successor, the OK-900 reactor are Soviet marine nuclear fission reactors used to power ships at sea. ... A double hull is a ship hull design and construction method where the bottom and sides of the ship have two complete layers of watertight hull surface: one outer layer forming the normal hull of the ship, and a second inner hull which is somewhat further into the ship, perhaps... Look up ballast in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Polymer is a term used to describe large molecules consisting of repeating structural units, or monomers, connected by covalent chemical bonds. ... Friction is the force that opposes the relative motion or tendency of such motion of two surfaces in contact. ...

Some ships carry one or two helicopters and several Zodiac boats. Radio and satellite systems can include navigation, telephone, fax, and email capabilities. The Bell 206 of Canadian Helicopters Robinson Helicopter Company (USA) R44, a four seat development of the R22 A helicopter is an aircraft which is lifted and propelled by one or more horizontal rotors consisting of two or more rotor blades. ... Zodiac Group is a a diversified corporation with a worldwide presence and a blue-chip stock specialising in the production of aerosafety systems, aircraft systems, airline equipment, airbags, remote transmissions, boats and swimming pools. ... The telephone or phone is a telecommunications device which is used to transmit and receive sound (most commonly voice and speech) across distance. ... A Samsung fax machine. ... E-mail, or email, is short for electronic mail and is a method of composing, sending, and receiving messages over electronic communication systems. ...

Most nuclear powered icebreakers in the Russian service today have a swimming pool, a sauna, a cinema, and a gymnasium. In the restaurants aboard there is a bar and facilities for live music performances. Some also have a library and at least one has a volleyball court. 50 meter indoor swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, or wading pool is an artificially enclosed body of water intended for recreational or competitive swimming, diving, or for other bathing activities that involve swimming, e. ... A sauna on Lake Vättern, in Karlsborg Municipality, Sweden. ... Modern indoor gymnasium with pull-down basketball hoops. ... Tourists sit outside a bar in Chiang Mai, Thailand A Depression-era bar in Louisiana. ... A modern-style library in Chambéry A library is a collection of information resources and services, organized for use, and maintained by a public body, institution, or private individual. ... Volleyball is an Olympic sport in which two teams separated by a high net use their hands, arms, or (rarely) other parts of their bodies to hit a ball back and forth over the net. ...

Individual Ships

On 1977-08-17, the NS Arktika ("Arctic") became the first surface ship ever to reach the North Pole. For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ... August 17 is the 229th day of the year (230th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... North Pole Scenery When not otherwise qualified, the term North Pole usually refers to the Geographic North Pole – the northernmost point on the surface of the Earth, where the Earths axis of rotation intersects the Earths surface. ...

The NS Arktika and NS Sibir ("Siberia") are presently not in operation but are stationed at Atomflot for extensive repair. Among other things, the nuclear reactors and turbine generators are to be upgraded as these do not satisfy the safety standards established for newer nuclear powered icebreakers. The Arktika's reactors have operated for over 150,000 hours, and research is underway to determine if they can be refitted to yield another 25,000 to 50,000 hours of service.

Neither the NS Arktika, nor the NS Sibir might ever come into operation again due to the operational economics. Unless there is a significant increase of transport in the Arctic it will not be profitable to operate all six Arktika-class icebreakers. It is to be expected that the oldest icebreakers would be the first ones to be taken out of operation.

The NS Rossiya ("Russia") carries two helicopters. Rossiya was used to transport an expedition of around 40 West Germans to the North Pole in the Summer of 1990; this may have been the first non-communist charter of a nuclear icebreaker. Rossiya was in refit as of December 2004. West Germany was the informal but almost universally used name for the Federal Republic of Germany from 1949 until 1990, during which years the Federal Republic did not yet include East Germany. ...

The NS Sovetskiy Soyuz was trapped in ice for three days in 1998. In 2004, it was one of three icebreakers used for an Arctic ice core expedition intended to research climate change and global warming. One tourism operator lists it as being possibly used for North Pole cruises. Ice Core sample taken from drill. ... It has been suggested that Global warming in popular culture be merged into this article or section. ... Global mean surface temperatures 1850 to 2006 Mean surface temperature anomalies during the period 1995 to 2004 with respect to the average temperatures from 1940 to 1980 Global warming is the observed increase in the average temperature of the Earths atmosphere and oceans in recent decades and the projected...

The NS Yamal is mostly used for tourism and scientific expeditions. It has 50 passenger cabins and suites, and carries one helicopter. The crew is 150, including 50 officers and engineers. Yamal was the 12th surface ship ever to reach the North Pole.

The NS 50 Let Pobedy ("50 Years Since Victory") is the final Arktika class ship. It was launched from the shipyard at Saint Petersburg on December 29, 1993 as the NS Ural, and delivered to Murmansk in 1994. It was later renamed and not actually completed and commissioned until 2006 due to funding delays. The crew is expected to normally number 138 persons. It has an environmental waste processing module added to the hull which accounts for 9 m of the ship's 159 m length; this makes it the largest of the Arktika class and the largest nuclear powered icebreaker in the world. It carries two Ka-32 helicopters. Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, English transliteration: Sankt-Peterburg), colloquially known as Питер (transliterated Piter), formerly known as Leningrad (Ленингра́д, 1924–1991) and... Murmansk, Archangelsk, Dikson, Tiksi, on the Arctic Ocean Murmansk coin Murmansk (Russian: ) is a city in the extreme northwest of Russia (north of the Arctic circle) with a seaport on the Kola Gulf, 12 km from the Barents Sea on the northern shore of the Kola Peninsula, not far from... The Kamov Ka-27 (NATO reporting name Helix) is a military helicopter developed for the Soviet Navy and currently in service in Russia, Ukraine, Vietnam, South Korea, China and India. ...

Taimyr class

Taimyr is also sometimes spelled Taymyr in English, and Vaiguch is sometimes spelled Vayguch. The ships were built at the Helsinki New Shipyard in Finland by Wärtsilä. The nuclear reactors were installed at the Leningrad Baltic Shipyard in the Soviet Union after delivery from Finland.^[1] Aker Finnyards is a Finnish shipbuilding company. ... Wärtsilä is a Finnish manufacturer of power plants (mainly diesel-powered) for use in electricity generation and ship power, and associated services. ... The Baltic Shipyard (Baltiysky Zavod, formerly Shipyard-189) is one of the oldest shipyards in Russia. ...

Taimyr class specifications:

• Length: 150.2 m (Taimyr), 151.8 m (Vaiguch)
• Beam: 29.2 m
• Draft: 8.0 m
• Height: 15.2 m keel to main deck, 8 stories from main deck to bridge
• Displacement: 20,000 tons
• Speed: 18.5 knots
• Crew: 120 to 138
• Reactors: One KLT-40M reactor producing 135 MW
• Propulsion: 3 propellers totalling 52,000 hp

The bow hull plating is approximately 32 mm thick. As of December 2004, both vessels were undergoing refitting.

Infrastructure

Support facilities include the fuel transports Imandra and Lotta which are used for refuelling and spent fuel. The Volodarsky is used for storage of solid waste; it can hold 300 cubic meters. Serebryanka is a tanker used for liquid waste which can hold 1000 cubic meters of material. The Rosta-1 boat is used for radiation monitoring and control, including sanitization of workers.

A third fuel vessel, Lepse, is filled with spent nuclear fuel elements, many of them damaged and thus difficult to handle. In addition to the materials on board, the ship itself is heavily contaminated. It forms one of the world's most difficult and potentially dangerous nuclear waste disposal problems; an accident there could release more radiation then the Chernobyl catastrophe into the immediate vicinity of Murmansk. A small crew monitors the ship on a constant basis while Russia tries to raise the money and perform the research needed for safe disposal. The Chernobyl Nuclear power plant The Chernobyl accident which occurred on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine (then part of the Soviet Union) is widely regarded as the worst in the history of nuclear power generation. ... Murmansk, Archangelsk, Dikson, Tiksi, on the Arctic Ocean Murmansk coin Murmansk (Russian: ) is a city in the extreme northwest of Russia (north of the Arctic circle) with a seaport on the Kola Gulf, 12 km from the Barents Sea on the northern shore of the Kola Peninsula, not far from...

In all, about 2,000 people work aboard the icebreakers, the nuclear powered container ship, and aboard the service and storage ships stationed at the Atomflot harbour. The crew on the civil nuclear powered vessels receive special training at the Makarov college in St. Petersburg, Russia. Container ship in Istanbul Container ships are cargo ships that carry all of their load in truck-size containers, in a technique called containerization. ...

Icebreakers generally try to navigate paths with the least possible ice in order to make speedier progress and to help ensure that they do not become trapped in ice too thick for them to break. In the 1970s and 1980s, land-based aircraft would observe and map the ice to help with course plotting. Over time, most of this work has been taken over by satellite surveillance systems, sometimes aided by the helicopters carried by the icebreakers.

Arctic tourism

"Yamal", August 2001

Since 1989 the nuclear powered icebreakers have also been used for tourist purposes carrying passengers to the North Pole. Each participant pays up to US$ 25,000 for cruises lasting three weeks. The NS Sibir was used for the first two tourist cruises in 1989 and 1990. In 1991 and 1992, the tourist trips to the North Pole were undertaken by NS Sovyetski Soyuz. During the summer of 1993 the NS Yamal was used for three tourist expeditions in the Arctic. The NS Yamal has a separate accommodation section for tourists. The NS 50 Let Pobedy contains an accommodation deck customised for tourists. Nuclear Icebreaker Yamal photo taken August 2001 This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Nuclear Icebreaker Yamal photo taken August 2001 This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... The red line indicates the 10°C isotherm in July, commonly used to define the Arctic region border Satellite image of the Arctic surface The Arctic is the region around the Earths North Pole, opposite the Antarctic region around the South Pole. ...

See also

• List of civilian nuclear ships
• Nuclear marine propulsion

The following are ships that are or were in commercial or civilian use and have nuclear marine propulsion. ... Nuclear marine propulsion is propulsion of a Merchant ship powered by a nuclear reactor. ...

References

1. ^ Nuclear icebreakers at Bellona.org

Bellona may refer to: The goddess Bellona, the Roman counterpart of to the Greek goddess Enyo. ...

External links

• Pravda: Russia Builds World's Biggest Nuclear Icebreaker
• Nuclear Powered Icebreakers, Bellona Foundation
• Technical information, MSCO
• Presentation on Safety of Current Russian Nuclear Facilities
• Nordic Nuclear Safety Icebreakers page
• NTI Icebreaker page, also Service Ship Table and Atomflot page