Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom has completed the manufacture and commissioning of the first reactor core for Rossiya, the lead vessel of the next-generation “Leader” class nuclear icebreakers.
The nuclear fuel was produced at the Machine Manufacturing Plant in Elektrostal, part of Rosatom’s fuel division. Rossiya will be powered by two RITM-400 nuclear reactors, each significantly more powerful than the RITM-200 units used on Russia’s current fleet of universal nuclear icebreakers.
Together, the twin RITM-400 reactors will generate a total shaft power of 120 megawatts, making Rossiya the most powerful icebreaker ever built, according to Rosatom.
Unlike existing icebreakers designed to operate in both deep and shallow waters, the “Leader” class is intended primarily for extreme Arctic conditions. The vessel will be capable of breaking through ice more than four metres thick and carving channels up to 50 metres wide. It is also designed to escort commercial ships at speeds of up to 12 knots through ice up to two metres thick.
Rosatom says the new icebreaker will play a key role in enabling year-round navigation along the eastern section of the Northern Sea Route, the Arctic shipping corridor linking Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. The route stretches some 5,600 kilometres from the Kara Gate Strait in the west to the Bering Strait in the east.
Russia is currently the only country to operate a fleet of nuclear-powered icebreakers. The existing fleet consists of eight vessels, with several more under construction as part of Moscow’s broader Arctic development strategy.