China is preparing to start bidding on a nuclear powered icebreaker, the first nuclear powered surface ship in the country’s history. An icebreaker powered by nuclear energy would give Beijing access to the Arctic and its resources. It would also pave the way toward nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, giving the People’s Liberation Army Navy unprecedented reach.

On June 21, 2018 China National Nuclear Corporation, an arm of the Chinese government, opened up bids to shipbuilders for the country’s first nuclear powered icebreaker. According to the state-run Global Times, the winning bidder would be required to “research, appraisal, building and testing of the ship, and provide technology support” for the Chinese government.

Climate change has decreased the amount of ice in the Arctic region, leading to the possibility of alternative sea routes and the exploitation of resources previously locked away under thick sea ice. As the ice has thawed countries are positioning to become influential Arctic powers. Although China is no Norway or Canada, it still considers the Arctic a key national interest. A Chinese military expert told Global Times that the icebreaker “will enhance China's ability to conduct scientific explorations in (Arctic) regions.”

China maintains a small fleet of icebreakers for clearing sea routes in the northern Bohai Sea but has just one large icebreaker, the 21,000 ton Xue Long (Snow Dragon) shown above. A second conventionally-powered icebreaker is under construction and the nuclear-powered ship would make a fleet of three.

The Soviet nuclear-powered icebreaker Lenin. Getty Images

Icebreakers are designed to open up routes through sea ice for explorers or commercial shipping, but they can also be trapped in ice themselves for days or weeks. Nuclear power allows icebreakers to operate in the ice without concern for a dwindling fuel supply, their limits defined by their food supplies and the endurance of their crews. The Soviet Union’s first nuclear surface ship was an icebreaker. Commissioned in 1957, the 16,000 ton Lenin was as big as a Navy cruiser.

The nuclear power plant meant to power China’s icebreaker could also power a future nuclear aircraft carrier. Although China has seagoing nuclear reactors, they power China’s nuclear submarine fleet and are fairly small. A large reactor designed for the icebreaker project could be installed in an aircraft carrier in banks of four or more, providing the energy necessary to power a 60,000 ton aircraft carrier, directed energy weapons, and electromagnetic catapults for launching aircraft. The world’s first nuclear-powered carrier, the U.S. Navy’s USS Enterprise, featured eight Westinghouse A2W nuclear reactors, although the follow-on Nimitz class consolidated the number to just two reactors.

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