Russia will be operating 11 icebreakers by 2035, Maxim Kulinko said. Kulinko is Deputy Head of Rosatom's Northern Sea Route Directorate and Head of the Directorate for Developing the Northern Sea Route and Coastal Territories.

"We expect that the Arctic icebreaker fleet will include five multirole nuclear-power icebreakers with a rated capacity of 60 megawatt each, three Leader-class icebreakers, four gas-motor fuel icebreakers with a rated capacity of up to 40 megawatt, plus the 50 Let Pobedy (50^th Victory Anniversary) icebreaker, which will reached the end of its service life by 2039," Kulinko said at the 8^th The Arctic: Today and the Future forum in St. Petersburg.

"Everyone involved in an Arctic project believes that it won't be possible to implement investment projects without year-round navigation along the Northern Sea Route, including due east. We need a powerful icebreaker fleet to ensure regular year-round navigation according to schedule," he added.

Kulinko reminded his audience that Rosatom had extended the service life of the current icebreakers; and this made it possible to ensure uninterrupted navigation today. In 2019, Rosatom is set to sign contracts for building two Project 22220 icebreakers. The ships will have two sources of funding for the first time; the state will fund only 50 percent of the cost. Rosatom will pay the rest from its budget and also use investment sources.

According to Kulinko, cargo ships must be escorted without interruption, "To accomplish this, we need to know specific plans and forecasts for cargo volume," he added.

On December 5-7, St. Petersburg hosted the 8^th The Arctic: Today and the Future forum with over 2,000 attendees from 40 Russian regions and 20 countries.

Arctic.ru and the Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency are providing media support for the event.