FSUE Atomflot has begun public discussions on the decommissioning of three old nuclear icebreakers, which have already been transferred from the category of vessels with nuclear reactors to the category of radiation source. These are the nuclear-powered ships "Russia", "Soviet Union" and "Arktika" of projects 10520 and 10521, launched between 1972 and 1986.
"Arktika" is the first ship in history to reach the North Pole in surface navigation in 1977, the second nuclear icebreaker in the world after "Lenin". Its operation was completed in 2008. "Soviet Union" is one of the three icebreakers that participated in studies of the impact of global warming in the Arctic, decommissioned in 2010. The icebreaker "Russia" is a modernized version of the previous Soviet icebreakers, which received, in particular, an all-weather Ka-32 helicopter - was decommissioned in 2013.
Atomflot notes that public discussions on the future of the icebreakers will take place in the form of a survey from October 22, 2024 to November 20, 2024. By March 2025, the assessment of the impact of icebreakers on the environment will be completed, after which the process of their radiation cleaning, decommissioning and disposal will enter an active phase. By 2030, they intend to get rid of the retired nuclear ships completely.
Disposal is part of the federal target program "Ensuring nuclear and radiation safety for 2016-2020 and for the period up to 2030". The first icebreaker to be disposed of under the program was "Sibir", according to Atomflot, its hull structures were sent for metal and sale at auction, and the reactor and other materials were cut out for storage and processing. The same fate awaits "Russia", "Soviet Union" and "Arktika".
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