By 2020 Russia will commission three nuclear icebreakers, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said.

“We have plans to build three nuclear icebreakers in 2017, 2018 and 2020,” Interfax news agency quotes Rogozin as saying.

According to the Deputy Prime Minister, Russia must have all the tools necessary to secure its position in the Artic.

“There is a lively discussion concerning the Arctic even in Western society. Everyone understands the importance of this region. For that reason, we must have all the necessary technical tools to go and stay there,” he stressed.

The Deputy Prime Minister recalled that the St. Petersburg’s Baltic Shipyard is building a flagman 60-Mw nuclear icebreaker, while the Krylov State Research Center and the Iceberg Design Bureau have already submitted a design for a 130-Mw lead icebreaker capable of breaking through 4-metre-thick ice.

“This will help clear the way for gas tankers with a deadweight of no less than 200,000 tons, which will enable Russia to be the true master of the unique gas deposits there,” Rogozin added.

He also said that Russia is developing special robots for underwater operations in the Arctic.