MOSCOW. Nov 6 (Interfax) - The Russian Navy will receive the Yevpaty Kolovrat icebreaker in 2022, Russian Navy Commander Nikolai Yevmenov said on Friday.
"The Project 21180M Yevpaty Kolovrat icebreaker being constructed at the Almaz Shipbuilding Firm in St. Petersburg is expected to join the Navy in 2022. A number of innovative solutions have been implemented in designing and building this icebreaker," Yevmenov said following a conference at the Admiralty, which addressed the designing, construction, and operation of surface ships and vessels for Russia's Navy.
"The relevant equipment is currently being installed on the icebreaker's hull" at the Almaz Shipbuilding Firm, which is part of the United Shipbuilding Corporation, the Navy quoted Yevmenov as saying.
"The Yevpaty Kolovrat icebreaker's water displacement will be 4,000 tonnes, and its hull will be 82 meters long and 19 meters wide. The icebreaker will be able to move at up to 14 knots. Its crew includes about 30 people. Its cruising endurance is one month. The vessel can navigate through up to one-meter-thick ice," he said.
"The military shipbuilding program's section dealing with the provision of the Russian Navy with ships, icebreakers, and support vessels is among the prioritized ones, taking into account the Navy's actively growing operations in the Arctic zone, the normal functioning of the Northern Sea Route, and hydrographic exploration of the Arctic," he said.
"The positive record of the first years of the latest Ilya Muromets icebreaker's operations with the Northern Fleet has confirmed that the course pursued in the construction of icebreakers and ice-class warships has been right, as its designed performance has proven highly efficient. In September and October this year, the Ilya Muromets successfully performed its missions virtually along the entire Northern Sea Route," Yevmenov said.
The same can be said about the Elbrus ice-class multifunctional support vessel, he said.
"This vessel has proven its ability to supply the Arctic group with good quality," he said.