September 25, 2017

Russian shipbuilder Baltic Shipyard has launched the second of three Project 22220, nuclear-powered icebreakers at its shipyard in St. Petersburg.

Sibir, as the second icebreaker in the class is named, was launched on September 22 into the River Neva in presence of Russian president Vladimir Putin and a number of other government and shipyard officials.

Together with sister ship Arktika, the Sibir is dubbed the “world’s largest and most powerful” icebreaker.

The Sibir was launched 16 months after it started construction in May 2015. The lead ship, Arktika, was launched in June 2016 and is expected to be commissioned in June 2019.

Designed by Iceberg Central Design Bureau in 2009, the 173-meter long icebreakers will be capable of breaking ice up to 2.8 meters thick.

The vessels are being built for Rosatomflot for operation in Arctic waters and in the waters of the mouth of the Yenisei river and the Gulf of Ob.