The icebreaker "Captain Sorokin". Modern icebreakers

According to scientists, about a fifth of the entire surface of our planet is covered with ice. And its quantity is almost 35 times higher than the volume of water in all lakes and rivers. To move around the vast frozen areas, special vessels are needed - icebreakers. They are a powerful component of the Russian fleet. The history of these ships has tens of years. And there are no more nuclear ships in any country in the world! The world's first icebreaker with a nuclear power plant was launched almost sixty years ago in the USSR. Today, the armed forces of the Russian fleet are 7 nuclear vessels.

Powerful and maneuverable are icebreakers of the type "Captain Sorokin". What tasks are performed by such vessels, what is their history, features of the design and expected prospects for the development of the Arctic fleet? We learn from the article.

History of icebreakers in Russia

The first ships for ice movement were built almost two hundred years ago in North America. They were steam and had many drawbacks, reducing their effectiveness. In the last century, they were substantially modernized.

High-power steam vessels - one of the first was the Soviet icebreaker "Siberia" - could be in the open sea for up to three weeks, and new diesel-electric ships - twice as long, up to forty days.

Considering the importance for the USSR of navigation along the Northern Route, it was necessary to equip the fleet with the latest technology. And in 1959 the world's first icebreaker with a nuclear installation, called "Lenin," was launched. Its appearance greatly facilitated navigation along the Northern Route.

Today, the Russian fleet includes icebreakers of two types: diesel electric ships and nuclear ships

Where to use icebreakers? Structure of the vessel

The icebreakers made an important contribution to the exploration of the Northern Sea Route. They are used mainly to ensure the free movement of the vessels following them. In addition, they are used to accompany and evacuate research expeditions, as well as to deliver various cargoes to hard-to-reach areas of the Arctic and Antarctic.

To successfully perform these difficult tasks, you need a special ship. The icebreaker has a peculiar design that allows it to work its way where it is unattainable for other ships. First of all, it concerns a special form of nose and barrel-shaped body. Due to this, the ship can break ice with its weight on the move.

The unusual shape of the stern (M-shaped) allows towing other vessels. The diesel-electric or atomic installation used makes the ship powerful and maneuverable. Also it allows to provide greater autonomy of the vessel, since refueling among the vast ice expanses is almost impossible.

Icebreaker "Captain Sorokin"

Great success was achieved by the Soviet winter navigation in 1977-1978. It was then that the famous icebreaker Captain Sorokin was launched. He, like other ships of this type, was created at the Finnish shipyard "Wärtsilä". They were built for the USSR, Finland and Argentina. Then "Captain Sorokin" as an experiment conducted the transport vessels "Pavel Ponomarev" and "Navarin" to the port of Dudinka. Thus, the possibility of year-round Arctic navigation was demonstrated for the first time. This was a tremendous achievement, which was first achieved by the icebreakers of the USSR.

Six years ago, "Captain Sorokin" was instructed to meet in the Gulf of Finland round-the-world sailing regatta Volvo Ocean Race, which then finished in St. Petersburg. On board the ship, among others, there were journalists and operators.

Now "Captain Sorokin" is also in operation.

Other icebreakers of this type

As mentioned earlier, the icebreaker "Captain Sorokin" is not the only vessel of this type that is part of the Russian fleet. In total, there are four such ships. They were launched one by one in 1977-1981. Named after four legendary polar captains - Sorokin, Nikolaev, Dranitsyn and Khlebnikov - they remain a reliable stronghold of the icebreaker fleet.

Vessels of this type are two-deck diesel electric ships. Icebreaking nose, transom feed and equipped helicopter pad allow to achieve maximum efficiency of Arctic navigation.

Mentions in art

It is interesting that the icebreaker "Captain Sorokin" became famous not only for his Arctic voyages. In 1979, it was on it that the filming of a documentary by Yuri Vizbor took place. The film was called "Murmansk-198" and was dedicated to the hard work of seamen working on icebreakers.

Also about the "Captain Sorokin" was mentioned in the song of J. Vizbor, entitled "Polar Owl".

Icebreakers in Russia today

The modern Russian fleet includes icebreakers with an atomic installation and diesel electric ships. According to the latest information, there are 44 vessels in operation. Of these, five are atomic. In 2007, a ship was commissioned and commissioned under the name "50 Years of Victory". It is noteworthy that this is the largest icebreaker in the world. It differs from other vessels, in comparison with other vessels, in the form of a nose, which makes it possible to more effectively break through ice. It serves mainly to accompany the caravans in the cold Arctic seas. But the icebreaker is also used to carry out passenger cruises. At the disposal of the passengers of the ship - a swimming pool, a sauna, a restaurant, a library.

It is worth noting especially the powerful Soviet nuclear ship "Arctic" (later renamed "Leonid Brezhnev"). His undoubted significance lies in the fact that he was the first to reach the North Pole.

Present nuclear ships provide the possibility to transport about five million tons of cargo per year.

Thus, a modern Russian icebreaker is a combination of power and maneuverability, speed and reliability. Paving the way through the frozen Arctic seas, he embodies the power of the domestic fleet.

Icebreakers Festival

To the seventieth anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War a grandiose festival was timed, in which the most powerful icebreakers of the country took part. It became the only one of its kind and was held in the water area of the Great Neva. All guests of this holiday were free to visit the presented vessels.

Among them was the icebreaker "Captain Sorokin", and the famous "Ivan Kruzenstern", tirelessly liberating the water spaces between the Northern capital and the Baltic Sea. You could also admire the colossal "St. Petersburg" and "Moscow". The sturdy body and dimensions of these ships enable them to easily pass through the ice up to one meter in thickness, and also to accompany large vessels and search for sunken objects at considerable depth.

Visitors to the festival were able to see with their own eyes the most powerful icebreakers of the Russian fleet. And at the very end of the holiday one could observe an amazing, spectacular spectacle - a parade of ships accompanied by a live orchestra - the "sea waltz".

Icebreakers of the future

Speaking of modern icebreakers, one can not help but look into the future of these ships. To date, the development and construction of new vessels is becoming an urgent necessity. According to the latest calculations, the Russian fleet needs six more modern nuclear-powered ships. What will be the icebreaker of the future?

In the next seven years, it is planned to build three powerful nuclear powered ships of the next, third generation. Projects of icebreakers of this type promise to achieve significantly greater speed, strength and autonomy. At present, the work on a new vessel "Arktika" of the third generation is in full swing. According to calculations, the icebreaker can stay in open sailing for up to seven years.

It is assumed that such a ship will be the largest on the planet, unparalleled and unique in a variety of parameters. The creation of this vessel will open a new page in the history of the icebreaking fleet. We can assume that a breakthrough in shipbuilding will allow us to study the Arctic in more detail and find places that were not previously on the map.