Russia to buy three 60-megawatt Arctic icebreakers before 2022
© RIA Novosti. Pavel Lvov

Russia to buy three 60-megawatt Arctic icebreakers before 2022

Three Arctic icebreakers with a power capacity of 60 megawatts each will be built in Russia over the next three years, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said, adding that the government is considering additional orders for more powerful icebreakers.

"The icebreakers currently operating in the Arctic are aging. We will receive three new 60-megawatt icebreakers in 2019, 2020 and 2021, respectively," Rogozin said.

Yet, the deputy prime minister said these icebreakers are not enough to ensure effective work in the Arctic and on the eastern route toward the Pacific Ocean. "We are now exploring the possibility of ordering three more super-class icebreakers, 120 megawatts each," he said.

These heavy icebreakers are capable of cutting through five-meter-thick ice, providing unlimited and safe navigation along the entire length of the Northern Sea Route.