Mudyug icebreaker

The 1982-built MS Mudyug (“ледокол Мудьюг”) is an icebreaking vessel owned and operated by Rosmorport. Rosmorport is a Russian FSUE (Federal State Unitary Enterprise) established in 2012 by the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation.

The vessel (IMO number 8009181, built at Helsinki Shipyard, hull number 436) is currently Russia-flagged (MMSI 273910100) and homeported in Sankt-Petersburg.

Mudyug is named after an island in the White Sea where, on August 23, 1918, a Bolshevik concentration camp was established. Because of this, Mudyug Island later became known as “the island of death”.

To assess foreign design concepts for future Arctic icebreakers, the Ministry of Merchant Marine decided to refit three vessels: Kapitan Nikolaev, Kapitan Sorokin, and Mudyug. The drydock reconstructions were carried out in Emden, Germany (Sorokin and Mudyug by Thyssen Nordseewerke) and in Helsinki, Finland (Nikolaev by Kvaerner Masa-Yards). After nearly three months in dry dock,

in October 1986 Mudyug left the Emden shipyard equipped with a Jastram-HSVA nozzle system and a Thyssen-Waas hull-form bow. In April 1987 the icebreaker undertook a performance-testing expedition near Spitsbergen Island (Svalbard Archipelago, Norway). The converted vessel demonstrated an ability to break ice twice as thick as that managed by conventional bow shapes. Maneuverability in level ice was also improved. A special ballast-tank system integrated into the new nozzle design enhanced Mudyug’s ability to overcome long and deep ridges and increased cruising speed in snow-covered ice by 25%.

Rosmorport’s Mudyug itinerary program includes scientific and Arctic expedition cruises and research voyages departing from St Petersburg (homeport).

Mudyug icebreaker vessel details

Mudyug’s sisterships (same design and shipbuilder) are the icebreakers Magadan and Dikson.

The vessel features 1 dining room, a sauna, 1 swimming pool, 1 elevator, and 1 helipad (helideck).

• Max draft: 6.5 m (21 ft)
• DWT (deadweight tonnage): 2920 tons
• Displacement tonnage: 6210 tons
• Icebreaking capacity: 1 m
• Powerplant: 4 x Wärtsilä 8R32 (2.39 MW each; 9.56 MW combined output)
• Propulsion: 2 shafts, 4-bladed controllable-pitch propellers

Note: In areas with poor AIS coverage, tracking the vessel’s position may not be possible. CruiseMapper’s list of all icebreakers and icebreaking research ships is available in the “itinerary” section of our Icebreakers hub, where all states and their fleets are listed.