Russia is a country with vast territories in the Arctic. However, their development is impossible without a powerful fleet, which makes it possible to ensure navigation in extreme conditions. For these purposes, several icebreakers were built during the existence of the Russian Empire. With the development of technology, they were equipped with more and more modern engines. Finally, in 1959, the Lenin nuclear icebreaker was built. At the time of its creation, it was the only civilian vessel in the world with a nuclear reactor, which, moreover, could sail without refueling for 12 months. Its appearance in the Arctic has significantly increased the duration of navigation along the Northern Sea Route.
Backstory
The world's first icebreaker was built in 1837 in the American city of Philadelphia and was intended to destroy the ice cover in the local harbor. After 27 years, the Pilot ship was created in the Russian Empire, which was also used to navigate ships through the ice in the conditions of the port water area. The place of its operation was the St. Petersburg sea harbor. Somewhat later, in 1896year, in England created the first river icebreaker. It was ordered by the Ryazan-Ural Railway Company and was used at the Saratov ferry. Around the same time, it became necessary to transport goods to remote areas of the Russian north, so at the end of the 19th century, the world's first ship for operation in the Arctic was built at the Armstrong Whitworth shipyard, called the Yermak. It was acquired by our country and was part of the B altic fleet until 1964. Another well-known ship - the icebreaker "Krasin" (before 1927 was named "Svyatogor") took part in the Northern convoys during the Great Patriotic War. In addition, in the period from 1921 to 1941, the B altic Shipyard built eight more ships intended for operation in the Arctic.
The first nuclear-powered icebreaker: characteristics and description
Nuclear-powered ship "Lenin", which was sent to a well-deserved rest in 1985, today turned into a museum. Its length is 134 m, width - 27.6 m, and height - 16.1 m with a displacement of 16 thousand tons. The ship was equipped with two nuclear reactors and four turbines with a total capacity of 32.4 MW, thanks to which it was able to move at a speed of 18 knots. In addition, the first nuclear-powered icebreaker was equipped with two autonomous power plants. Also on board were created all the conditions for a comfortable stay for the crew during many months of Arctic expeditions.
Who created the first nuclear icebreaker of the USSR
Work on a civilian ship equipped withnuclear engine, was recognized as a particularly responsible matter. After all, the Soviet Union, among other things, was in dire need of another example confirming the assertion that the "socialist atom" is peaceful and creative. At the same time, no one doubted that the future chief designer of a nuclear-powered icebreaker should have extensive experience in building ships capable of operating in the Arctic. Taking into account these circumstances, it was decided to appoint V. I. Neganov to this responsible post. Even before the war, this well-known designer received the Stalin Prize for designing the first Soviet Arctic linear icebreaker. In 1954, he was appointed to the post of chief designer of the Lenin nuclear-powered ship and began to work together with I. I. Afrikantov, who was instructed to create an atomic engine for this ship. I must say that both design scientists brilliantly coped with the tasks assigned to them, for which they were awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor.
What preceded the creation of the first Soviet nuclear icebreaker
The decision to start work on the creation of the first Soviet nuclear-powered ship to work in the Arctic was taken by the Council of Ministers of the USSR in November 1953. In view of the eccentricity of the tasks set, it was decided to build a model of the engine room of the future ship in real size in order to work out the layout decisions of the designers on it. Thus, the need for any alterations or shortcomings during construction work directly on the ship was eliminated. Besides,the designers who designed the first Soviet nuclear-powered icebreaker were tasked with eliminating any possibility of damage to the ship's hull by ice, so a special heavy-duty steel was created at the famous Prometheus Institute.
The history of the construction of the icebreaker "Lenin"
The work on the creation of the ship began in 1956 at the Leningrad Shipbuilding Plant. Andre Marty (in 1957 it was renamed the Admir alty Plant). At the same time, some of its important systems and parts were designed and assembled in other factories. Thus, the turbines were produced by the Kirov Plant, the propulsion motors were produced by the Leningrad Electrosila Plant, and the main turbogenerators were the result of the work of the workers of the Kharkov Electromechanical Plant. Although the launch of the vessel took place already at the beginning of the winter of 1957, the nuclear installation was installed only in 1959, after which the Lenin nuclear icebreaker was sent for sea trials.
Since the ship was unique at that time, it was the pride of the country. Therefore, during construction and subsequent testing, it was repeatedly shown to distinguished foreign guests, such as members of the Chinese government, as well as politicians who at that time held the posts of British Prime Minister and Vice President of the United States.
Operating history
During the debut navigation, the first Soviet nuclear-powered icebreakerproved to be excellent, showing excellent performance, and most importantly, the presence of such a vessel in the Soviet fleet made it possible to extend the navigation period by several weeks.
Seven years after the start of operation, it was decided to replace the outdated three-reactor nuclear plant with a two-reactor one. After the modernization, the ship returned to work again, and in the summer of 1971, this nuclear-powered ship became the first surface ship that could pass Severnaya Zemlya from the Pole. By the way, the trophy of this expedition was a polar bear cub donated by the team to the Leningrad Zoo.
As already mentioned, in 1989 the exploitation of "Lenin" was completed. However, the firstborn of the Soviet nuclear icebreaker fleet was not threatened with oblivion. The fact is that it was put on eternal parking in Murmansk, having organized a museum on board, where you can see interesting exhibits telling about the creation of the nuclear icebreaker fleet of the USSR.
Accidents on "Lenin"
For 32 years, while the first nuclear-powered icebreaker of the USSR was in service, two accidents occurred on it. The first one happened in 1965. As a result, the reactor core was partially damaged. To eliminate the consequences of the accident, part of the fuel was placed on a floating technical base, and the rest was unloaded and placed in a container.
As for the second case, in 1967 the technical staff of the ship recorded a leak in the pipeline of the third circuit of the reactor. As a result, the entire nuclear compartment of the icebreaker had to be replaced, and the damaged equipment was towed and flooded.in Tsivolki Bay.
Arctic
Over time, for the development of the expanses of the Arctic, a single nuclear-powered icebreaker was not enough. Therefore, in 1971, the construction of the second such vessel was started. It was "Arktika" - a nuclear-powered icebreaker, which, after the death of Leonid Brezhnev, began to bear his name. However, during the Perestroika years, the first name was returned to the ship, and it served under it until 2008.
Technical characteristics of the second Soviet nuclear-powered ship
"Arktika" - a nuclear-powered icebreaker, which became the first surface vessel to reach the North Pole. In addition, his project initially included the possibility of quickly converting the ship into an auxiliary combat cruiser capable of operating in polar conditions. This became possible largely due to the fact that the designer of the nuclear icebreaker Arktika, together with a team of engineers working on this project, provided the ship with increased power, allowing it to overcome ice up to 2.5 m thick. As for the dimensions of the ship, they are 147.9 m long and 29.9 m wide with a displacement of 23,460 tons. At the same time, at the time when the vessel was in operation, the longest duration of its autonomous voyages was 7.5 months.
Arctic class icebreakers
Between 1977 and 2007, five more nuclear-powered ships were built at the Leningrad (later St. Petersburg) B altic Shipyard. All these ships weredesigned according to the type of "Arktika", and today two of them - "Yamal" and "50 Years of Victory" continue to pave the way for other ships in the endless ice near the North Pole of the Earth. By the way, the nuclear-powered icebreaker called "50 Years of Victory" was launched in 2007 and is the last icebreaker produced in Russia and the largest of the existing icebreakers in the world. As for the other three ships, one of them - the "Soviet Union" - is currently undergoing restoration work. It is planned to return to service in 2017. Thus, Arktika is a nuclear-powered icebreaker, the creation of which marked the beginning of a whole era in the history of the Russian fleet. Moreover, the design solutions used in its design are still relevant today, 43 years after its creation.
Taimyr-class icebreakers
Besides nuclear-powered ships, the Soviet Union, and then Russia, needed smaller draft ships to operate in the Arctic, which were designed to guide ships to the mouths of Siberian rivers. Nuclear icebreakers of the USSR (later Russia) of this type - "Taimyr" and "Vaigach" - were built at one of the shipyards in Helsinki (Finland). However, most of the equipment placed on them, including power plants, is of domestic production. Since these nuclear-powered ships were intended for operation mainly on rivers, their draft is 8.1 m with a displacement of 20,791 tons. At the moment, the Russian nuclear icebreakers Taimyr and Vaigach continue to operate on the Northern Sea Route. However, they soonneed a change.
Icebreakers type LK-60 Ya
Ships with a capacity of 60 MW, equipped with a nuclear power plant, have been developed in our country since the early 2000s, taking into account the results obtained during the operation of ships of the Taimyr and Arktika types. The designers have provided the ability to change the draft of new vessels, which will allow them to work effectively both in shallow water and in deep water. In addition, the new icebreakers are capable of moving even in ice with a thickness of 2.6 to 2.9 m. A total of three such vessels are planned to be built. In 2012, the first nuclear-powered ship of this series was laid at the B altic Shipyard, which is scheduled to be put into operation in 2018.
A new class of state-of-the-art Russian icebreakers under design
As you know, the development of the Arctic is one of the priority tasks facing our country. Therefore, at the moment, design documentation is being developed for the creation of new icebreakers of the LK-110Ya class. It is assumed that these heavy-duty ships will receive all their energy from a 110 MW nuclear steam generating plant. In this case, the vessel will be powered by three four-blade fixed-pitch propellers. The main advantage that the new nuclear-powered icebreakers of Russia will have should be their increased ice-breaking capacity, which is expected to be at least 3.5 m, while for ships in operation today, this figure is no more than 2.9 m. Thus, the designers promise provide year-round navigationin the Arctic along the Northern Sea Route.
How is the situation with nuclear icebreakers in the world
As you know, the Arctic is divided into five sectors belonging to Russia, USA, Norway, Canada and Denmark. These countries, as well as Finland and Sweden, have the largest icebreaking fleets. And this is not surprising, since without such ships it is impossible to carry out economic and research tasks among the polar ice, even despite the consequences of global warming, which are becoming more and more noticeable every year. At the same time, all currently existing nuclear icebreakers in the world belong to our country, and it is one of the leaders in the development of the expanses of the Arctic.
