Russia is a country with vast territories in the Arctic. However, their development is impossible without a powerful fleet, which allows for navigation in extreme conditions. For these purposes, even during the existence of the Russian Empire, several icebreakers were built. With the development of technology, they were equipped with more modern engines. Finally, in 1959, the atomic icebreaker Lenin was built. At the time of its creation, it was the only civilian vessel in the world with a nuclear reactor, which, moreover, could be sailing without refueling for 12 months. Its appearance in the Arctic has significantly increased the duration of navigation along the Northern Sea Route.
Background
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 port waters. The place of its operation was the St. Petersburg Sea Harbor. A little later, in 1896, the first river icebreaker was created in England. It was ordered by the Ryazan-Ural Railway Company and was used at the Saratov crossing. Around the same time, the need arose for transporting goods to remote areas of the Russian north, therefore, at the end of the 19th century, the world's first vessel for operation in the Arctic, called the Yermak, was built at the Armstrong Whitworth shipyard. It was acquired by our country and was part of the Baltic Fleet until 1964. Another famous ship - the icebreaker Krasin (before 1927 it was called Svyatogor) took part in the Northern convoys during the Great Patriotic War. In addition, from 1921 to 1941, the Baltic Shipyard built eight more vessels designed for operation in the Arctic.
The first nuclear icebreaker: characteristics and description
Nuclear-powered ship "Lenin", which was sent for a well-deserved rest in 1985, today turned into a museum. Its length is 134 m, its width is 27.6 m, and its height is 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, which made it capable of traveling at a speed of 18 knots. In addition, the first nuclear-powered icebreaker was equipped with two autonomous power stations. Also on board were all the conditions for a comfortable crew stay during the many months of Arctic expeditions.
Who created the first atomic icebreaker of the USSR
Work on a civilian vessel equipped with a nuclear 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 constructive. At the same time, no one doubted that the future chief designer of the atomic icebreaker should have extensive experience in building ships capable of operating in the Arctic. Given these circumstances, it was decided to appoint V. I. Neganov to this responsible post. This famous designer even before the war 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 icebreaker and set to work with I.I. Afrikantov, who was entrusted with the task of creating an atomic engine for this vessel. It must be said that both design scientists brilliantly coped with the tasks assigned to them, for which they were awarded the titles of Heroes of Socialist Labor.
What preceded the creation of the first Soviet atomic icebreaker
The decision to start work on creating the first Soviet nuclear-powered ship to operate in the Arctic was made by the Council of Ministers of the USSR in November 1953. Due to the eccentricity of the tasks, 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 excluded. In addition, the designers who designed the first Soviet atomic icebreaker were tasked with eliminating any possibility of damage to the ship’s hull by ice, which is why a special heavy-duty steel was created at the famous Prometey Institute.
The history of the construction of the icebreaker "Lenin"
Directly to work on the creation of the ship began in 1956 at the Leningrad shipyard them. Andre Marty (in 1957 he was renamed the Admiralty Plant). At the same time, some of its important systems and parts were designed and assembled at other enterprises. So, the turbines were produced by the Kirov Plant, the propeller motors were produced by the Leningrad Electrosila Plant, and the main turbine generators were the result of the labor of workers of the Kharkov Electromechanical Plant. Although the ship was launched in the early winter of 1957, the nuclear installation was mounted only in 1959, after which the Lenin nuclear-powered icebreaker was sent for sea trials.
Since the ship was unique at that time, it was a matter of pride for the country. Therefore, during construction and subsequent testing, he was repeatedly shown to distinguished foreign guests, such as members of the PRC government, as well as to politicians who at that time held the posts of Prime Minister of Great Britain and Vice President of the United States.
Operation history
During the debut navigation, the first Soviet atomic icebreaker proved to be excellent, showing excellent performance, and most importantly, the presence of such a vessel in the Soviet fleet allowed to extend the navigation period by several weeks.
Seven years after the start of operation, it was decided to replace the obsolete three-reactor nuclear installation with a two-reactor one. After modernization, the ship returned to work again, and in the summer of 1971 it was this nuclear-powered ship that became the first surface ship that could pass North Earth from the pole. By the way, the trophy of this expedition was a white teddy bear, donated by the team to the Leningrad Zoo.
As already mentioned, in 1989, the operation of Lenin was completed. However, the first-born of the Soviet nuclear icebreaker fleet was not threatened by oblivion. The fact is that he was put on an eternal parking lot in Murmansk, having organized a museum on board, where you can see interesting exhibits telling about the creation of the atomic icebreaker fleet of the USSR.
Accidents on the "Lenin"
For 32 years, while the first atomic icebreaker of the USSR was in service, two accidents occurred on it. The first of them 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 at the floating technical base, and the rest was unloaded and placed in a container.
As for the second case, in 1967 the technical personnel of the vessel recorded a leak in the pipeline of the third reactor loop. As a result, the entire atomic 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 vastness of the Arctic, the only atomic icebreaker became few. Therefore, in 1971, the construction of the second such vessel was started. He was the "Arctic" - an atomic icebreaker, which after the death of Leonid Brezhnev began to bear his name. However, during the years of Perestroika, the vessel was returned to its first name again, and it served under it until 2008.
Technical characteristics of the second Soviet nuclear-powered ship
The Arctic is an atomic icebreaker that became the first surface ship to reach the North Pole. In addition, his project initially included the ability to quickly convert the ship into an auxiliary battle 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 the 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 vessel, they make up a length of 147.9 m and a width of 29.9 m with a displacement of 23,460 tons. Moreover, while 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) Baltic Plant. All these vessels were designed according to the type of “Arctic”, and today two of them - “Yamal” and “50 years of Victory” continue to pave the way for other ships in the endless ice at the North Pole of the Earth. By the way, the nuclear-powered ship called “50 Years of Victory” was launched in 2007 and is the last of those manufactured in Russia and the largest of the existing icebreakers in the world. As for the other three vessels, one of them, the “Soviet Union,” is currently undergoing restoration work. They plan to return it to operation in 2017. Thus, the Arctic is an atomic icebreaker, the creation of which marked the beginning of an era in the history of the Russian fleet. Moreover, the design solutions used in its design are relevant today, 43 years after its creation.
Taimyr class icebreakers
In addition to nuclear powered ships, the Soviet Union, and then Russia, also needed vessels with less draft to operate ships in the mouth of the Siberian rivers to work in the Arctic . Nuclear-powered icebreakers of the USSR (subsequently 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 primarily for use on rivers, their draft is 8.1 m with a displacement of 20,791 tons. At present, the Taimyr and Vaigach atomic icebreakers of Russia continue to operate on the Northern Sea Route. However, they will soon need a change.
Icebreakers type LK-60 I
Vessels with a capacity of 60 MW equipped with a nuclear power plant began to be developed in our country since the beginning of the 2000s, taking into account the results obtained from the operation of Taimyr and Arctic vessels. The designers provided the opportunity to change the draft of new vessels, which will allow them to work effectively both in shallow water and in deep water. In addition, new icebreakers are capable of moving even in ice from a thickness of 2.6 to 2.9 m. In total, it is planned to build three such vessels. In 2012, the first nuclear-powered icebreaker of this series, which is scheduled to be commissioned in 2018, was laid at the Baltic Plant.
New design class of ultra-modern Russian icebreakers
As you know, the development of the Arctic is included in the number of priority tasks facing our country. Therefore, at the moment, design documentation is being developed to create new icebreakers of the LK-110Y class. It is assumed that these heavy-duty vessels will receive all the energy from a 110 MW steam generating plant. In this case, the ship’s engine will be three four -blade propellers with a fixed pitch. The main advantage that will be available to the new nuclear icebreakers in Russia should be their increased ice penetration, 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 navigation in the Arctic along the Northern Sea Route.
What is the situation with atomic icebreakers in the world
As you know, the Arctic is divided into five sectors belonging to Russia, the USA, Norway, Canada and Denmark. These same countries, as well as Finland and Sweden, have the largest icebreaking flotillas. 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 the currently existing nuclear icebreakers of the world belong to our country, and it is one of the leaders in the development of the vastness of the Arctic.