The second reactor unit for the icebreaker is currently being prepared for hydraulic testing.
Photo credit: ZiO-Podolsk press office
Rosatom says that Podolsk Machine-Building Plant (ZiO-Podolsk, part of Rosatom State Corporation) based near Moscow has completed the test assembly of the first reactor unit for the Leningrad of the nuclear-powered icebreaker series.
Test assembly is the final stage in the multi-year reactor unit manufacturing cycle. During the cycle all components and elements of the reactor are assembled in their design positions — exactly as shown in the drawings. The successful completion of this operation allowed engineers to ensure that the unit is fully prepared for shipment and subsequent installation. The ZiO-Podolsk managers noted the RITM unit is the 13th in a row and that the company has already manufactured ten RITM-200 reactor units and two more powerful RITM-400 units.
The icebreaker’s propulsion includes two RITM-200 reactor units. The second reactor for the nuclear icebreaker Leningrad is currently being prepared for hydraulic testing. The final assembly will begin once these tests are completed. A total of 15 RITM units are at various stages of production at Rosatom’s Machine-Building division facilities, with three of them in the final stages of production. These reactors are used for nuclear icebreakers, small NPPs, and floating power units.
Currently, five Project 22220 nuclear icebreakers are equipped with RITM-200 units: the Arktika, lead icebreaker of the series, and the serial vessels, Sibir, Ural, Yakutia, and Chukotka. The first four have been escorting merchant ships on the Northern Sea Route (NSR) for several years now. The final icebreaker of Arktika class delivery is scheduled for 2026.
The Leningrad is the sixth in a series of Project 22220 nuclear-powered icebreakers, being built at Baltic Shipyard for the state-owned Rosatom Corporation. The keel laying ceremony for the Leningrad was held January 26, 2024.
The Project 22220 icebreakers, under construction at USC’ Baltic Shipyard, are the largest and most powerful in the world. All icebreakers in the series utilize a unique electric propulsion system developed in-house by Russia. The icebreakers primary mission is to ensure year-round navigation in the western Arctic. These dual draft icebreakers can operate in deep seas and are able to enter the mouth of Siberian rivers. Its dimensions allow the icebreakers to break a 40-meter-wide sea route through 3-meter-thick ice. These serial icebreakers will form the basis of Russia’s civil icebreaking fleet in the near future.
Key particulars of Project 22220: LOA – 173.3 meters; Beam: 34 meters (33 m, DWL); Height: 52 meters; Draft (DWL): 10.5 m/8.65 m; Minimum draft: 9.03 meters; Full displacement: 33,540 tonnes; Engine rated power: 60 MW; Cruising speed: 22 knots (in clear water); Maximum icebreaking capability: 2.8-meter-thick ice (at full capacity and speed of 1.5-2 knots); Crew: 54; Expected service life: 40 years.
