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Ural (icebreaker)

Summary

Ural (Russian: Урал) is a Russian Project 22220 nuclear-powered icebreaker. Built by Baltic Shipyard in Saint Petersburg, the vessel was laid down in 2016, launched in 2019 and delivered in 2022.

Ural at the mooring wall of Baltic Shipyard in July 2022
History
Russia
NameUral (Урал)
NamesakeUral Mountains
OperatorFSUE Atomflot
Port of registryMurmansk
Ordered13 March 2012[5]
BuilderBaltic Shipyard, Saint Petersburg
CostRUB 84.4 billion (for two vessels)[8]
Yard number05708[5]
Laid down25 July 2016[6]
Launched27 May 2019[4]
Sponsored byElvira Nabiullina[7]
Completed
  • 2020 (contract date)[2]
  • 22 November 2022 (delivery)[3]
Identification
StatusIn service
General characteristics [9][10]
Class and typeProject 22220 icebreaker
Displacement
  • 33,530 t (33,000 long tons) (dwl)
  • 25,540 t (25,140 long tons) (minimum)
Length
  • 173.3 m (569 ft) (overall)
  • 160.0 m (525 ft) (dwl)
Beam
  • 34 m (112 ft) (maximum)
  • 33 m (108 ft) (dwl)
Height51.25 m (168 ft)[11]
Draft
  • 10.5 m (34 ft) (dwl)
  • 9.00 m (30 ft) (minimum; achievable)[13]
  • 8.65 m (28 ft) (minimum; official)
  • 8.50 m (28 ft) (minimum; design)
Depth15.2 m (50 ft)
Ice classRMRS Icebreaker9
Installed power
Propulsion
  • Nuclear-turbo-electric
  • Three shafts (3 × 20 MW)
Speed
  • 22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph)
  • 1.5–2 knots (2.8–3.7 km/h; 1.7–2.3 mph) in 2.8 m (9 ft) ice
Endurance
  • 7 years (reactor fuel)
  • 6 months (provisions)[12]
Crew75
Aviation facilitiesHelideck and hangar

Development and construction edit

Background edit

In the late 1980s,[14] the Russian research institutes and design bureaus developed a successor for the 1970s Arktika-class nuclear-powered icebreakers as part of a wider icebreaker fleet renewal program initiated shortly after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.[15] The new 60-megawatt icebreaker, referred to using a type size series designation LK-60Ya,[note 1] would feature a so-called dual-draft functionality which would allow the vessel to operate in shallow coastal areas after de-ballasting.[16] Although the preliminary designs had been developed almost two decades earlier, the LK-60Ya design was finalized in 2009 as Project 22220 by Central Design Bureau "Iceberg"[17] and the construction of the first vessel was awarded to Saint Petersburg-based Baltic Shipyard in August 2012.[18] Three additional contracts in May 2014, August 2019 and February 2023 have increased the number of Project 22220 icebreakers under construction or on order to seven.[19][20][21]

Construction edit

 
Ural under construction at Baltic Shipyard in July 2019 with another Project 22220 icebreaker in the background

The tender for construction of two additional Project 22220 nuclear-powered icebreakers, referred to as the first and second serial vessels of the project, was announced at the keel laying ceremony of the lead ship Arktika on 5 November 2013.[2] On 8 May 2014, the 84.4 billion ruble (about US$2.4 billion)[8] contract for two vessels was awarded to the Saint Petersburg-based Baltic Shipyard which was the only company whose bid had been accepted.[22]

The keel of the third Project 22220 icebreaker was laid on 25 July 2016, shortly after the partially-assembled hull of the previous vessel, Sibir, had been moved down the slipway for final hull assembly.[6][23] Unlike in the previous two vessels, the RITM-200 nuclear reactors were lifted onboard the vessel while it was still on the slipway.[24] By February 2019, the hull of the new icebreaker had been constructed up to the 40 millimetres (1.6 in) thick ice belt level,[25] and the vessel was launched as Ural on 27 May 2019.[4] The name had previously been selected for the final Arktika-class icebreaker when it was laid down in 1989, but during construction the vessel was renamed 50 Let Pobedy (Russian: 50 лет Победы, lit. '50 Years of Victory').[26]

Initially, the delivery of the third Project 22220 nuclear-powered icebreaker was scheduled for 2020,[2] but this has since been postponed to 2022 due to problems with the delivery of the steam turbines from a domestic manufacturer.[27]

On 26 May 2020, Ural's level of technical readiness was reported to be 50 %.[28]

In February 2021, there was a minor fire onboard the icebreaker.[29]

Ural left for the sea trials on 14 October 2022[30] and returned to the shipyard on 31 October,[31] having reportedly finished factory sea trials in record time.[clarification needed][32]

The flag-raising ceremony marking Ural's entry to service was held on 22 November 2022.[3] The icebreaker left for its homeport, Murmansk, on the following day and arrived there on 30 November.[33][34] On 2 December, the icebreaker departed for its first operational icebreaking mission to the Kara Sea.[35]

Career edit

After the icebreaking season, Ural sailed back to the Baltic Sea for scheduled repairs at Kronstadt Marine Plant which is the nearest Russian dry dock that can accommodate a vessel of this size.[36] The repairs were completed in late October.[37]

Design edit

Ural is 173.3 metres (569 ft) long overall and has a maximum beam of 34 metres (112 ft). Designed to operate efficiently both in shallow Arctic river estuaries as well as along the Northern Sea Route, the draught of the vessel can be varied between about 9 and 10.5 metres (30 and 34 ft) by taking in and discharging ballast water, corresponding to a displacement between 25,540 and 33,530 tonnes (25,140 and 33,000 long tons).[9][10][13]

Ural has a nuclear-turbo-electric powertrain. The onboard nuclear power plant consists of two 175 MWt RITM-200 pressurized water reactors fueled by up to 20% enriched Uranium-235[38] and two 36 MWe turbogenerators.[39][40][41] The propulsion system follows the classic polar icebreaker pattern with three 6.2-metre (20 ft) four-bladed propellers driven by 20-megawatt (27,000 hp) electric motors.[42][43] With a total propulsion power of 60 megawatts (80,000 hp), Ural is designed to be capable of breaking 2.8 metres (9 ft) thick level ice at a continuous speed of 1.5–2 knots (2.8–3.7 km/h; 1.7–2.3 mph) at full power when operating in deep water at design draught.[10]

Notes edit

  1. ^ The type size series designation "LK-60Ya" (Russian: ЛК-60Я) comes from the Russian language word for "icebreaker" (Russian: ледокол, romanized: ledokol), propulsion power (60 megawatts), and the first letter of the Russian word for "nuclear" (Russian: ядерное, romanized: yadernoye).

References edit

  1. ^ "Ural (9658642)". Equasis. Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
  2. ^ a b c "Atomflot announces tender for construction of two serial nuclear icebreakers". PortNews. 5 November 2013. Archived from the original on 12 August 2022. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
  3. ^ a b "На ледоколе "Урал" прошла церемония поднятия флага" (in Russian). Sudostroenie.info. 22 November 2022. Archived from the original on 22 November 2022. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  4. ^ a b "Nuclear-powered icebreaker Ural, Project 22220, launched at Baltiysky Zavod shipyard in Saint-Petersburg (video)". PortNews. 27 May 2019. Archived from the original on 29 September 2023. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
  5. ^ a b "Ural (9658642)". Sea-web. S&P Global. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  6. ^ a b "Second serial icebreaker of project 22220, the Ural, laid down at Baltiysky Zavod (photo)". PortNews. 25 July 2016. Archived from the original on 27 September 2023. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
  7. ^ @rosatom (20 May 2019). ""Крестной матерью" ледокола нового поколения "Урал" станет глава Центробанка Эльвира Набиуллина. Спуск корабля на воду состоится 25 мая" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  8. ^ a b "Baltic Shipyard building nuclear icebreaker". VEUS e.V. 24 September 2014. Archived from the original on 12 August 2021. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
  9. ^ a b "Универсальный атомный ледокол проекта 22220" (in Russian). Rosatomflot. Archived from the original on 26 May 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  10. ^ a b c "Multipurpose nuclear icebreaker project 22220". United Shipbuilding Corporation. Archived from the original on 29 June 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  11. ^ "Как ледокол "Арктика" готовился к ходовым испытаниям" (in Russian). Sudostroenie.info. 15 December 2019. Archived from the original on 16 December 2019. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  12. ^ "Ледокол "Арктика" готов на 60%" (in Russian). Ruselprom. Archived from the original on 12 April 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  13. ^ a b "Испытание Дудинкой. «Сибирь» поборола лишний вес" (in Russian). Fontanka.ru. 2 February 2022. Archived from the original on 2 February 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  14. ^ Tsoy, L.G. (2012), "Не разучились ли наши судостроители проектировать ледоколы?", Морской флот (in Russian) (5)
  15. ^ Tsoy, L.G.; Stoyanov, I.A.; Mikhailichenko, V.V.; Livshits, S.G. (1995), "Perspective types of Arctic icebreakers and their principal characteristics" (PDF), Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Port and Ocean Engineering under Arctic Conditions, 1995 (POAC'95), vol. 1, pp. 13–26, archived (PDF) from the original on 30 July 2021, retrieved 24 December 2019
  16. ^ Tsoy, L.G. (1994), "New generation Arktika class nuclear icebreaker feasibility study", Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Ships and Marine Structures in Cold Regions, 1994 (ICETECH'95), pp. P1–P8
  17. ^ "Largest icebreaker construction now underway". The Motorship. 26 January 2014. Archived from the original on 12 August 2021. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  18. ^ "Baltic Shipyard to build new large nuclear-powered icebreaker (Project 22220 LC-60YA)". Navy Recognition. 7 August 2012. Archived from the original on 19 November 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  19. ^ "Baltiysky Shipyard to build three new icebreakers by 2020". Barents Observer. 8 May 2014. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  20. ^ "Russia's ATOMFLOT Orders 4th & 5th Project 22220 Nuclear-Powered Icebreakers". Naval News. 11 August 2019. Archived from the original on 30 January 2023. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  21. ^ "Росатомфлот заключил контракт на строительство пятого и шестого серийных универсальных атомных ледоколов". Rosatomflot (in Russian). 3 February 2023. Archived from the original on 3 February 2023. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  22. ^ "Baltiysky Shipyard awarded no-bid contract for construction of two nuclear icebreakers of project 22220". PortNews. 8 May 2014. Archived from the original on 25 December 2019. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
  23. ^ "Hull of the Siberia, first serial icebreaker of project 22220, shifted to a new position at Baltiysky Zavod shipyard". PortNews. 28 June 2016. Archived from the original on 12 August 2022. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
  24. ^ "Baltiysky Zavod shipyard loaded reactors onto nuclear-powered icebreaker Ural, second serial ship of Project 22220". PortNews. 12 November 2018. Archived from the original on 25 December 2019. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
  25. ^ "Baltiysky Zavod completed shaping ice belt of nuclear-powered icebreaker Ural of Project 22220". 20 February 2019. Archived from the original on 25 December 2019. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
  26. ^ Savelyev, Igor. "Nuclear giant goes out to the Northern Sea route". Maritime Market. Archived from the original on 26 November 2020. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
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  28. ^ "Техготовность атомоходов "Сибирь" и "Урал" составляет 70% и 50% соответственно" (in Russian). PortNews. 26 May 2020. Archived from the original on 6 June 2020. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  29. ^ "В Петербурге произошло возгорание на строящемся атомном ледоколе "Урал"" (in Russian). RIA Novosti. 13 February 2020. Archived from the original on 14 February 2021. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  30. ^ "Baltiysky Zavod commences sea trials of nuclear-powered icebreaker Ural of Project 22220". PortNews. 14 October 2022. Archived from the original on 14 October 2022. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  31. ^ "Атомный ледокол "Урал" вернулся на Балтийский завод" (in Russian). Sudostroenie.info. 1 November 2022. Archived from the original on 1 November 2022. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  32. ^ "Атомный ледокол "Урал" завершил ходовые испытания" (in Russian). Mil.Press FlotProm. 1 November 2022. Archived from the original on 1 November 2022. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  33. ^ "Nuclear-powered icebreaker Ural leaves Saint-Petersburg for its homeport Murmansk". PortNews. 23 November 2022. Archived from the original on 23 November 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  34. ^ "Атомный ледокол "Урал" готовится к выходу в первый рабочий рейс" (in Russian). Sudostroenie.info. 30 November 2022. Archived from the original on 4 December 2022. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
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  36. ^ "Less than a year after launch, Russia's newest nuclear icebreaker sails back to St. Petersburg yard". The Barents Observer. 28 July 2023. Archived from the original on 30 October 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  37. ^ "Кронштадтский морской завод завершил ремонт атомного ледокола «Урал» проекта 22220". Media Paluba (in Russian). 25 October 2023. Archived from the original on 30 October 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
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  39. ^ "Serving the nuclear machine building industry since 1945" (PDF). JSC "Afrikantov OKBM". Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 January 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  40. ^ "Kirovsky Zavod Will Manufacture a Steam-Turbine Plant for the World's Largest Nuclear-Powered Ice-Breaker". Kirovsky Zavod. 27 August 2013. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  41. ^ "Турбогенератор РУСЭЛПРОМА установили на атомный ледокол" (in Russian). Ruselprom. Archived from the original on 30 November 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
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  43. ^ ""Звездочка" изготовила лопасти гребных винтов для головного атомного ледокола" (in Russian). 20 April 2016. Archived from the original on 19 November 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2020.

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