Russian icebreakers run out of godmothers after ceremony with Putin

For year-round operation of the Northern Sea Route, it is necessary to have 7-9 such vessels, by 2030 there will be at best 6

Vladimir Putin oversaw the launching of the nuclear-powered icebreaker Yakutia and the hoisting of the flag on its older brother Ural: both ships will be part of a grouping that transports goods, primarily oil and liquefied gas, along the Northern Sea Route. “The development of this most important transport corridor will allow Russia to fully reveal its export potential,” the president emphasized. The Northern Sea Route does not fall under sanctions and is half the length of the traditional water route to Asia, which is becoming the main consumer of Russian energy resources.

“Today we have two bright events at once, significant for the domestic shipbuilding and our icebreaking fleet,” said at the beginning of the ceremony the GDP, which, thanks to video communication, no longer needs to be torn apart. First, from his office in Novo-Ogaryovo, he oversaw the launch of the Yakutia nuclear icebreaker. And then he switched to the Ural helipad, where the Russian flag was hoisted. Both vessels, as the president explained, were laid down as part of a large serial project and are part of a large-scale work “to strengthen the status of Russia as a great Arctic power.” “The first two icebreakers of this series, Arktika and Sibir, are already serving on the most difficult sections and difficult routes (Northern Sea Route),” he recalled.

The Yakutia icebreaker under construction towered over officials who had come to see for themselves that the launching ceremony would go off without a hitch. There were Deputy Prime Ministers Denis Manturov and Victoria Abramchenko, chosen as the godmother of the icebreaker. “Large courts should always have a godmother,” Dmitry Peskov explained to reporters. And indeed: judging by the photo chronicle of previous ceremonies, the speaker of the Federation Council Valentina Matvienko, Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova and the head of the Central Bank Elvira Nabiullina have already been in this role. The task of the godmother is to break a bottle of champagne on the hull of the ship and, as the head of the USC Alexei Rakhmanov put it, “bless him for a happy fate.”

Victoria Abramchenko had no problems with champagne. “Beauty” Yakutia “- speedy entry into service and seven feet under the keel!” she said breaking the bottle. The effectiveness of this blessing can be judged in 2024, when the Yakutia, completed to the size of an 18-storey building, should join the ice group. “The specified deadlines, the gained pace of work must be strictly adhered to. I am sure that this will be the case, ”said Vladimir Putin, who was closely following the ceremony. However, there is still cause for concern: there are already no more women in the government, and icebreakers continue to be built. The shipyards now have the Chukotka, and two more ships of this class, according to Denis Manturov, are planned to be laid down in the near future. Who will be their godmothers? As practice shows, for some reason this honorable mission was not trusted to anyone except representatives of the federal government.

After the Yakutia set off on its first mini-voyage to the nearest dock to the joyful cries of shipbuilders, video engineers connected Vladimir Putin with the helipad of the Ural icebreaker. This ship should start performing tasks as early as December 2022. This means that the time has come to raise the Russian flag, which was done in the presence of the President, who stood listening to the performance of the anthem. As Aleksey Likhachev, the head of Rosatom, said, the Ural will join the ships that provide transportation of goods along the Northern Sea Route. This year, the cargo turnover of this route will amount to 34 million tons, which is 2 million tons more than the planned target. “By 2035, transportation along the Northern Sea Route will exceed 200 million tons. We expect tax revenues of over 13 trillion rubles,” Likhachev pleased the president.

It is no secret that the Russian authorities have high hopes for the Northern Sea Route, which is why hundreds of billions of rubles are being invested in icebreakers. The Arctic corridor is not subject to sanctions and is necessary for the transportation of LNG and oil from the northern fields. “The development of this route is extremely important now, and in the near future its importance will increase many times,” the president said, noting that the Northern Sea Route will allow Russia to establish effective logistics with the countries of Southeast Asia. “We are open for cooperation with our partners, with those who want to work with Russia,” he stressed.

At the ceremonies, they did not talk about problems. In fact, all modern icebreakers are delivered late: instead of 2017, Arktika was put into operation in 2020, Sibir in 2021 instead of 2019. “Ural” was supposed to start sea trials in September.

On November 18, Security Council Deputy Head Dmitry Medvedev acknowledged the presence of “considerable difficulties” due to sanctions, as well as a delay from the schedule, which “has not yet been overcome.” According to experts, for year-round operation of the Northern Sea Route, Russia needs to have 7–9 nuclear-powered icebreakers, and by 2030 there will be 6 at best. However, it is still unclear whether it will be possible to reach the declared volumes of cargo transportation: this will depend on the implementation of oil and gas projects , as well as the readiness of foreign companies to use this route for transit.

Published in the newspaper “Moskovsky Komsomolets” No. 28917 dated November 23, 2022

Newspaper headline:
Short Northern Sea Route to Asia