As reported by the newspaper "Kommersant" in the material Polina Smertina and Dmitry Kozlov "Icebreakers say goodbye to LNG. Norilsk Nickel and Rosatom will build them diesel," Norilsk Nickel and Rosatom decided to build a diesel-electric icebreaker, abandoning the use of a fuel system on liquefied natural gas (LNG). They want to install only Russian equipment on the icebreaker, including Transmashholding diesel engines and conventional shaft lines instead of imported propeller columns. The refusal to use the LNG fuel system was expected due to sanctions, analysts say.
The project of a dual-fuel icebreaker powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), previously developed for JSC Norilsk Nickel by the Finnish company Aker Arctis. Its construction was planned to be carried out at the Finnish shipyard Helsinki Shipyard Oy with the beginning in 2022 and delivery by the end of 2024, but now it has become impossible due to the sanctions of the European Union (c) Aker Arcti
Norilsk Nickel and Rosatom abandoned the project of building a dual-fuel diesel-LNG icebreaker, deciding to build a conventional diesel-electric icebreaker. The companies have already agreed on the "tactical and technical data" of the vessel, said Vyacheslav Ruksha, deputy head of Rosatom and head of the Directorate of the Northern Sea Route, speaking at a visiting session of the Eastern Economic Forum on July 21. The icebreaker is needed for ice wiring of vessels carrying Norilsk Nickel cargo along the Northern Sea Route.
Norilsk Nickel needs to replace a nuclear icebreaker of the Taimyr type (35 MW), which is planned to be decommissioned in 2027-2029. In September last year, Norilsk Nickel, Rosatom and DCSS (part of the Rosneft Group) signed an agreement on the design and construction of an icebreaker powered by diesel fuel and LNG. The icebreaker will be built by the Zvezda shipyard, which is part of the DCSS (see Kommersant dated September 3, 2021).
"In the construction of diesel icebreakers, it is necessary to switch to 100% Russian production. There are quite large restrictions: the real diesel is only the D500 of the Kolomna plant of Transmashholding (TMH)," Vyacheslav Ruksha said. He noted that there are no Azipod technologies in Russia (Azipod screw-steering columns of the Swedish-Swiss ABB, which announced its departure from Russia). Companies start negotiations with manufacturers.
Norilsk Nickel told Kommersant that the project "had to be modified."
All equipment will be Russian-made, so conventional shaft lines will be installed instead of azipods. Now the parties are working on the design. The company added that they will be able to disclose details on the construction dates and financing conditions later.
Two sources of Kommersant noted that the design of the vessel will be handled by the Iceberg Central Design Bureau (part of the DCSS). It takes about two years to design vessels of this type. The Ministry of Industry and Trade "does not have the final solutions of customers." Rosneft did not answer Kommersant's questions.
TMH told Kommersant that the D500 engine has been mastered, tested in 2021 and can be used on large naval vessels. "Now another engine is being assembled for Rosatom. It is assumed that the entire necessary set of tests will be completed by the end of the year," the company noted. Possible improvements to the engine for the icebreaker project will not concern structural changes, we are talking only about the placement of auxiliary equipment, according to TMH.
It is planned that new diesel icebreakers will be built in a series. The first will be ready by 2027, the second in 2028, the third in 2029 and the fourth in 2030.
Due to the sanctions, it is practically impossible to make a fuel system for LNG, says Nadezhda Malysheva from PortNews. It is important that Russian companies do not abandon construction, but optimize projects and choose Russian suppliers. According to her estimates, the construction of the icebreaker can probably begin in 2024 and be completed in 2027 in an optimistic scenario.
TMX engines are close to serial models, although there may be issues related to the level of localization for gearboxes, says Mikhail Burmistrov, head of Infoline-Analytics. In his opinion, the situation with the electric propulsion and steering column is more complicated: there are developments in the Krylov center, but manufacturers have to do a lot of work in terms of the ability to compete with Azipod rotary steering columns, which were installed on almost all Russian icebreakers and ships with a high ice class. "Initially, LNG technologies were planned to be used to improve the environmental parameters of projects, but now, in the face of unprecedented sanctions, this issue is fading into the background. In addition, the economic feasibility of using icebreakers on LNG is ambiguous for Norilsk Nickel," Mikhail Burmistrov believes.
