Kapitan Dranitsyn icebreaker

The 1980-built MS Kapitan Dranitsyn ("ледокол "Капитан Драницын") is an icebreaking vessel owned by the Russian Federation and operated by MSCO Murmansk Shipping Company.

The vessel (IMO number 7824405, Helsinki Shipyard/hull number 413) is currently Russia-flagged (MMSI 273138300) and homeported in Murmansk.

One of the Russian icebreaker cruise ships, Kapitan Dranitsyn is a diesel-electric research vessel (RV) Ice class RMRS LL3. The ship was built for the USSR (Soviet Union) and started operations in December 1980. This ship is named after the polar explorer and captain of the Soviet Arctic fleet Herman Vasilyevich Dranitsyn.

Since October 1995 the icebreaker has been used as a research ship by AARI ("Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute" / "Арктический и антарктический научно-исследовательский институт", abbreviated as "ААНИИ"). AARI is located in Saint Petersburg and is the oldest and largest research institute in the Russian Federation in the field of comprehensive studies of the polar regions.

The vessel's main purpose is piloting cargo ships on the Northern Sea Route. The icebreaker has also carried out tourist cruises to Spitsbergen, Frantz Joseph's Archipelago, New Land, Chukotka, Bering Strait and to the North Pole. Kapitan Dranitsyn has completed research sailings into the Bering Sea, the Barents Sea and the Arctic Ocean.

In 1996, the ship made the first around-the-world "icebreaker cruise". During the same year, Dranitsyn participated in rescuing the German cruise ship Hanseatic (now Heritage Adventurer) (from the HAPAG-LLOYD fleet) with 135 passengers aboard.

In 2000, Dranitsyn made an Arctic around-the-world cruise on the itinerary route Hammerfest - Keflavik - Stromfiord - Canadian Arctic (Alaska, Chukotka, Murmansk).

In 2002, 2003, and 2004, the ship made research expeditions to the Laptev Sea in order to place and recover moorings in NABOS project (abbrev from "Nansen and Amundsen Basins Observational System").

In 2002, Dranitsyn took part in shooting an advertising film for the Ford Motor Company in Spitsbergen Archipelago.

Kapitan Dranitsyn vessel details

The Dranitsyn ship was built for operations in the Baltic Sea and on the Northern Sea Route. In the last few years, the ice-breaker has been modified as a cruise ship, with 49 passenger cabins (all outside) able to accommodate up to 102 guests. Public accommodations include bars, spacious lounges, a heated swimming pool, sauna, gym, library, a small hospital.

"Kapitan Sorokin" class of linear diesel-electric icebreaker ships also includes Kapitan Khlebnikov, Kapitan Nikolaev and Kapitan Sorokin.

The vessel has 1 dining room, Sauna, 1 swimming pool (indoor, heated), 1 elevator, 1 helipad (Helideck).

• Max Draft: 8,5 m (28 ft)
• Displacement tonnage: 14917 tons
• DWT Deadweight tonnage: 4515 tons
• Powerplant: Wartsila-Sulzer (6x diesel engines type 9ZL40/48), each with 3,04 MW output (combined 18,24 MW)
• Propulsion: diesel-electric, with three shafts (each with 5,4 MW output, or combined 16,2 MW)

Note: In the case of poor AIS coverage, tracking the vessel's current location will be impossible. You can see CruiseMapper's list of all icebreakers and ice-breaking research ships in the "itinerary" section of our Icebreakers hub. All states and their fleets are listed there.