Russia plans to build ten ice-class supply vessels to ensure delivery along the Northern Sea Route (NSR). The construction will most likely be carried out at one of the shipyards in St. Petersburg, among which the Baltic Shipyard, Admiralty Shipyards, and Vyborg Shipyard are competing.
United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) is the main contender for the construction of this series of vessels. According to the competitive documentation of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the vessel must comply with the Arc7 class. This will allow it to move independently in ice with a thickness of 1.4–1.7 meters, as well as have the ability to transport containers and dangerous goods.
The length of the vessel should not exceed 170 m, the width should be 23 m, and the speed should be at least 14 knots (almost 26 km/h). The work is supposed to be carried out in two stages with completion in November 2026. The transition to the production of vessels is expected between 2027 and 2029.
In August 2022, the Russian government approved the NSR development strategy until 2035, according to which the volume of cargo traffic on the route should reach 80 million tons by 2024, 150 million tons by 2030, and 220 million tons by 2035.
Earlier www1.ru reported that SSK Zvezda is completing the construction of the first batch of gas carriers for Arctic LNG-2.
