Russia's Nuclear Icebreaker Leningrad Completes Anti-Icing System Installation

Recently, the Baltic Shipyard, a subsidiary of Russia's United Shipbuilding Corporation (ОСК), announced that it has successfully installed the anti-icing device turbo-compressor unit for the “Leningrad” (Leningrad), the sixth nuclear-powered icebreaker of Project 22220 currently under construction.

It is reported that this domestically produced high-performance compressor can provide large-flow compressed air, forming an air-water curtain through underwater exhaust ports on the hull, thereby significantly reducing friction between the hull and ice and scouring away ice debris and accumulated snow. Combined with the 45 mm thick special steel used in the hull's ice belt, this anti-icing system can ensure that the nuclear-powered vessel maintains optimal navigation performance and structural safety when operating in the extreme cold latitudes of the Arctic.

The “Leningrad” (Leningrad) is the sixth nuclear-powered icebreaker built in series under Russia's Project 22220, with its keel formally laid in January 2024. Currently, the vessel is fully advancing equipment installation, painting, and rudder-propeller unit operations, and is expected to further consolidate Russia's year-round navigation capability in the western Arctic waters.

The Project 22220 nuclear-powered icebreakers are equipped with a nuclear propulsion system with 60 MW shaft power, making them the largest and most powerful icebreakers in the world today, with the capability to break through 3-meter-thick ice. Currently, the Baltic Shipyard is simultaneously advancing the construction of the “Chukotka” (Chukotka), the “Leningrad” (Leningrad), and the “Stalingrad” (Stalingrad), and plans to decide on the construction plans for two additional nuclear icebreakers of the same type within 2026.