Russia on Thursday floated out a
new nuclear-powered icebreaker, said to be the world's biggest and most
powerful, to be used for hauling liquefied natural gas from its Arctic
terminal.
Arktika, ordered by Russia's Rosatom state nuclear
agency, was built at the Baltic Shipyard in Saint Petersburg, and will
be ready to use by the end of next year.
"There are no icebreakers like it in the world," said
Rosatom chief Sergei Kiriyenko at the ceremony, according to a company
statement. "The Arktika icebreaker presents truly new opportunities for
our country."
Arktika is the first vessel in a project aimed at
allowing year-round navigation in the Northern Passage, and in
particular ship Russian energy products from the Arctic to Asia.
Kiriyenko said that contracts have already been
signed for the Arktika to accompany shipments from the Yamal liquefied
natural gas terminal that Russia is developing on the Yamal peninsula
together with France's Total and China National Petroleum Corporation.
"In 2018 we have to ensure exports of liquefied
natural gas from Yamal" Kiriyenko said. "There are already contracts for
shipping 18 billion tonnes of liquified natural gas."
The Arktika is
the "biggest and most powerful nuclear icebreaker in the world," Rosatom
said. It can cut through ice of up to 2.8 metres (nine feet) thick.
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