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Russia to extend life of nuclear icebreaker fleet
Russia to extend life of nuclear icebreaker fleet
MOSCOW, April 28 (Reuters) - Russia will renovate its entire fleet of
five nuclear-powered icebreakers plying the vital northern shipping
route by 2003 by extending the lifespan of their nuclear reactors,
the route's director said on Friday.
Anatoly Gorshkovsky told Reuters in a telephone interview that the
administration of the northern route had been allocated funds to
rehabilitate the ship's reactors, extending their service life by
25,000 hours each.
"All five ice-breakers are working now in good condition, and under a
programme we dicussed with President-elect Putin in Murmansk earlier
this month we decided to prolong the service life of each reactor to
175,000 hours from 150,000."
Work will start on the first ship, Arktika, in a week's time,
Gorshkovsky said.
He said there had been a debate over whether to recommission the
ageing fleet or to build new ships, and time rather than money had
proved the decisive factor.
"There were calls for building new icebreakers but it would take
seven years to build the first one and we simply cannot wait that
long," he said.
"They all escort shipping from Murmansk to Nakhodka and Vladivostok
all year round, including foreign ships. The annual volume of freight
carried on the northern route is two million tonnes, and when we have
all five icebreakers up and running in 2003, this will rise to six
million tonnes."
He said the northern shipping route should be used more intensively
by shipping convoys going to Japan, China, South East Asia countries
and even further afield.
"The programme has been approved and money allocated by the
government, and with the development of oil and gas deposits in the
Arctic ocean we hope to revive the northern route which would help
develop Russia's economy as a whole," he added.
NO OTHER WAY FOR NICKEL
As well as providing the shortest sea route from northwest Europe to
the Pacific, the northern route is also vital for Russia's largest
metals company, Norilsk Nickel <NKEL.RTS>, whose main facilities are
on Russia's north coast.
Norilsk mines nickel, copper and other metals near the port of
Dudinka on the Yenisei river, roughly half way along the northern
route, and ships output with the help of icebreakers to smelters on
the Kola peninsula and beyond.
Such is the importance of Norilsk production to world markets that
news of nuclear icebreakers going for repairs can affect metal
prices. There are no other transport options for the company's output
in that remote part of Siberia.
The icebreakers are also vital for getting fuel and food to remote
communities dotted along Russia's north coast, most of them home to
gold and timber workers and deer breeders.
As well as the five ships to be renovated, one additional nuclear
icebreaker is currently being built.
The 50 Let Pobedy (50th Anniversary of Victory), which will be the
world's most powerful icebreaker at a cost of $92 million, is under
construction at the Baltiisky Zavod shipyard in St Petersburg.
St.Petersburg newspaper Delovoy Peterburg reported last week that
even though the ship is 75 percent complete, it will not be finished
for another three years.
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