[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

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. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sandy Perle					Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100   				    	
Director, Technical				Extension 2306 				     	
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Division		Fax:(714) 668-3149 	                   		    
ICN Biomedicals, Inc.				E-Mail: sandyfl@earthlink.net 				                           
ICN Plaza, 3300 Hyland Avenue  		E-Mail: sperle@icnpharm.com          	          
Costa Mesa, CA 92626                                      

Personal Website:  http://www.geocities.com/capecanaveral/1205
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Website: http://www.dosimetry.com

************************************************************************
The RADSAFE Frequently Asked Questions list, archives and subscription
information can be accessed at http://www.ehs.uiuc.edu/~rad/radsafe.html