Eighteen months after it was commissioned, Viktor Chernomyrdin, Russia’s first diesel-electric icebreaker, has finally made its maiden journey to the Arctic for ice testing. The vessel departed Murmansk for the ice testing program, which is set to take ten to fifteen days, depending on the actual state of the ice fields and the remoteness of the testing areas.
The ice trials were originally expected to take place in 2020, however, got delayed in response to various obstacles barring the vessel from setting off. Delays consisted of cost overruns and damage caused by fire. The vessel is the world’s longest non-nuclear icebreaker.
Rosmorport, the enterprise responsible for Russian seaport and maritime infrastructure development, released a statement about the ship saying the vessel had promise, “In accordance with the navigation schedule, the Viktor Chernomyrdin icebreaker completed escorts in the Gulf of Finland and arrived in Murmansk, from where it is heading to the Arctic for planned ice trials,”
Although it is Russia’s most powerful conventional icebreaker, the ship has never traveled to the Arctic. The vessel focused more on breaking ice in the Gulf of Finland. The ship’s main intentions are to escort and tow. The ship also has the capabilities of transporting and supplying scientific expeditions in the Arctic and the Antarctic by being able to carry up to 90 special personnel in addition to its 38 crewmembers.
