Keel Laid for Russia’s Next Generation Icebreaker
The world’s biggest nuclear-powered icebreaker keel laying ceremony took place of at the Baltic Shipyard on 26 May 2015. Heads of Atomfflot, the Baltic Shipyard and the RS Branch Office for Nuclear Vessels signed a Keel Laying Acceptance Report of the first serial nuclear-powered icebreaker, project 22220. Bookmark nuclear-powered icebreaker "Sibir" was timed to the anniversary of the Baltic plant, which on May 26 turned 159 years . In the presence of Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, Director General of State Corporation "Rosatom" Sergei Kiriyenko, the president of USC Alexey Rakhmanov, the governor of the Murmansk region Marina Kovtun and other honorary guests of the event laid the first serial icebreaker project 22220, dubbed "Siberia".
Samsung Wins Tanker Contract
According to a Korea Herald report, Samsung Heavy Industries Co. won a $422.5 million deal to build three arctic tankers for Russian state-owned shipper Sovcomflot. Samsung is the first Korean shipbuilder to receive an order for ice-breaking oil-carriers. Sovcomflot plans to operate the artic tankers over the Barents Sea between the Varandiy oil well in the Arctic Ocean and Murmansk harbor in Russia, according to the report. As oil development in the arctic region progresses, demand for at least 20 arctic tankers is expected by 2015. Source: The Korea Herald