Alexey Likhachev, the head of ROSATOM, attended the launching ceremony of the fourth serial nuclear icebreaker, Chikotka, at USC Baltic Shipyard JSC in St. Petersburg on November 6.
President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, ordered the launch of the vessel via videoconferencing. He noted that the creation of such powerful vessels demonstrates Russia’s industrial, scientific, HR, and technological capabilities. “That’s right – our entire domestic economy should be built on our own technologies and groundbreaking scientific solutions. I want to stress again: our plans to develop the Arctic and increase cargo traffic on the Northern Sea Route (NSR) depend directly on strengthening our icebreaker fleet. As you know, we have big ambitions there, and there’s a lot of work to be done,” the Russian President said.
“New icebreakers are essential for the development of the NSR and the entire Russian Arctic. In the past 10 years, cargo traffic along the route has grown nearly tenfold and continues to set new records every year. This year, we’re seeing the same upward trend, with cargo traffic exceeding last year’s figures for the same period. Transit traffic is also increasing due to cargo redirection from west to east. So far this year, over 3 million tons of cargo has been transited, which is a 40% increase from last year,” said Alexey Likhachev.
After the launch, construction of Chukotka will proceed in the water, with hull sections and machine-building components being fabricated. It is expected to be commissioned in 2026.
