Russia’s state nuclear agency has launched a new icebreaker, Ural, as part of the country’s plans to dominate the newly warming Arctic region. The nuclear-powered ship is one of three new icebreakers commissioned by Moscow to navigate waters choked with sea ice and smash its way through if necessary.

The ship, Ural, is the third in the class of three Project 22220 icebreakers. The ship was constructed by the Baltic Shipyards of St. Petersburg and will be handed over to Rosatom, Russia’s nuclear agency, in 2021. The Project 22220 ships are 173 meters (567 feet) long and 34 meters (111 feet) wide, making them the largest icebreakers ever constructed. The ships displace a massive 33,000 tons, likely due to large ballast tanks built inside the ship that allow it to ride higher or lower in the water as necessary.

Ural at launch. Note the icebreaker is much wider than conventional ships. Peter Kovalev Getty Images

The Ural, and its two sister ships, are each powered by two RITM-200 icebreakers generating a total of 350 megawatts. That’s almost five times as much power generated by the turbines on the destroyer USS Zumwalt. This, combined with a thick hull, allows the ships to break through ice up to 3 meters (9.8 feet) thick. The RITM-200, according to Russian state media, will also power Russia’s next generation aircraft carrier , the Project 23000 “Shtorm”.

Russia has built three Project 22220s: Arktika, Sibir, and now Ural, and will sign contracts for two more by the end of the year. According to The Guardian, Putin has promised Russia will operate at least 13 heavy-duty icebreakers by 2035, nine of which will be nuclear powered.

Moscow is building such a large icebreaker fleet in order to support what it calls the Northern Sea Route . As global temperatures increase and Arctic ice continues to shrink a shipping route roughly following Russia’s northern coastline becomes increasingly tenable. This route would bypass Europe, Africa and Asia altogether, cutting a long, expensive shipping route down considerably. Such a route would also be easy for Russia to control, politically and militarily.

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Meanwhile, the U.S. icebreaker fleet is down to just aging ships, the larger Polar Star and smaller, newer Healy . The Coast Guard plans to expand the fleet to six ships , three larger icebreakers and three medium size ships, with the first heavy icebreaker due to enter service in 2024.

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