Damaged nuclear icebreaker is repaired in the ice
Few days after it crashed into a cargo ship, the 50 Let Pobedy continues to escort ships across the icy waters of the Kara Sea.
The powerful icebreaking vessel that on 18 January collided with cargo ship Yamal Krechet in the Gulf of Ob has undergone repair while at sea, sources in Murmansk say. The damages were reportedly not of serious character and a repair team was sent to the Kara Sea to fix the ship, a social media news site in the region reports.
There is currently thick sea-ice across the whole Kara Sea.
Ship traffic data show how the 50 Let Pobedy spent about a week days in the northern parts of the Kara Sea following the crash. Several other ships were in the area of the icebreaker in the period.
After the apparent repair works, the nuclear-powered icebreaker is now again fully engaged in escorts of ships across the remote and ice-covered waters.
On 6 February, the icebreaker was seen sailing with course for the Gulf of Ob and a day later, it assisted shipments in the waters near the natural gas terminal of Sabetta.
The damages to cargo ship Yamal Krechet is not known. The ship has been moored in the port of Sabetta since after the crash with the icebreaker.
The 50 Let Pobedy is the newest of the older Arktika-class nuclear-powered icebreakers. Construction of the vessel started in the late Soviet era (1989), but she was not commissioned before 2007.
The icebreaker has Murmansk as homeport, but can operate independently for months at a time during the icy navigation season along the Northern Sea Route.
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Canada, U.S. and Finland form pact to build icebreakers for Arctic, CBC News
Denmark: Denmark’s Arctic, North Atlantic focus: Canada among new defence attaché posts, Eye on the Arctic
Finland: US, Norwegian forces in Lapland for rapid reinforcement exercise, The Independent Barents Observer
Norway: Oslo looks to Brussels for strengthened security and defence, CBC News
Russia:Russia to begin artillery firing near Norway’s Grense Jakobselv, The Independent Barents Observer
Sweden: Biden says NATO now stronger than ever with Sweden and Finland, Radio Sweden
United States: White House releases U.S. Arctic strategy implementation plan, Eye on the Arctic
