The ice-class patrol ship "Ivan Papanin" (Project 23550), part of the Northern Fleet, is capable of operating in ice up to 1.7 m thick. This was stated by the ship's commander, Captain 2nd Rank Kirill Tkachenko, to the newspaper "Na Strazhe Zapolyarya".
"Ivan Papanin" has been assigned a high Arctic class Arc7. This means it can operate in first-year ice with a concentration of up to 10 points [an indicator of how much floating or drifting ice covers the water surface — editor's note www1.ru].
At the same time, the vessel is capable of handling even thicker ice, Tkachenko added. In this case, "the path is broken through with raids" — the ship's speed is reduced, it reverses, then accelerates and rams the obstacle.
This is how "Ivan Papanin" clears the ice, the commander explained. Similar actions are performed in a meter-thick layer of ice when there is no task to ensure continuous movement, the Captain 2nd Rank concluded.
The patrol ship was built at the Admiralty Shipyards in St. Petersburg. It joined the Northern Fleet in 2025. The vessel, with a displacement of 8.5 thousand tons, has an unlimited navigation area.
"Ivan Papanin" is designed for escorting and towing vessels, and participating in rescue operations. The ship is armed with an AK-176MA 76.2 mm automatic artillery mount, Kord heavy machine guns, and Igla MANPADS.