Krasin icebreaker

The 1976-built MS Krasin ("ледокол Красин") is an icebreaker owned and operated by the Far East Shipping Company (FESCO/Дальневосточное морское пароходство), part of FESCO Group.

The vessel (IMO number 7359644, Helsinki Shipyard/hull number 400) is currently Russia-flagged (MMSI 273143900) and homeported in Vladivostok.

Krasin, together with her sistership Admiral Makarov (launched 1975), is the largest of the four icebreakers in the FESCO fleet. The ship was named after Leonid Borisovich Krasin (1870–1926), a Soviet diplomat and one of Bolshevik Russia’s leaders.

During "Operation Deep Freeze" (2004–2005), the US Antarctic Program chartered Krasin as a secondary vessel, working alongside the USCG icebreaker Polar Star to clear a channel to McMurdo Station (a US research base on Ross Island).

On December 21, 2004, the icebreaker departed Vladivostok, reaching the Ross Sea ice edge about a month later. She left the Ross Sea on February 9 and returned to Vladivostok on March 5, 2005.

The Krasin’s service program includes escorting large crude oil tankers (alongside Admiral Makarov) between Sakhalin-I (oil and gas project on Sakhalin Island) and the De-Kastri Oil Terminal (Khabarovsk Krai, Sea of Okhotsk).

In summer, she provides Northern Sea Route escorts in the eastern sector of the Russian Arctic, servicing terminals in the North Chukchi Sea (Chukotka Sea). In March 2005, FESCO signed a multi-year government contract for Krasin to support offshore oil rig operations in the Sea of Okhotsk.

Krasin icebreaker vessel details

FESCO is the largest icebreaker operator in the Russian Far East. The government transferred four icebreaking vessels to the company. Along with Krasin, the fleet includes the diesel-powered icebreakers Admiral Makarov, Kapitan Khlebnikov, and Magadan.

The four vessels operate in the ice-covered waters of the Russian Far East and the Arctic, but their missions extend from the Eastern Arctic to Antarctica.

The ship is equipped with 2 dining rooms, a sauna, an indoor heated swimming pool, an elevator, and a helipad (helicopter deck).

• Max draft: 11 m (36 ft)
• Displacement: 20,250 tons
• DWT (deadweight tonnage): 7,554 tons
• Power plant: 9 × Wartsila-Sulzer 12ZH40/48 (3,380 kW each; total 30.42 MW)
• Propulsion: 3 × Stromberg DC motors (8,820 kW each; total 26.46 MW)

Note: In areas with limited AIS coverage, tracking the vessel’s current location may not be possible. CruiseMapper’s Icebreakers hub provides a list of all icebreakers and icebreaking research ships, including itineraries and fleets by state.