Sovetskiy Soyuz icebreaker

NS Sovetskiy Soyuz ("атомный ледокол Советский Союз") is a Russian nuclear icebreaker. "NS" stands for "nuclear ship". The vessel is state-owned (by the Russian Federation via FSUE Atomflot) and operated by Rosatom. The Atomflot company provides maintenance and technological services for all Russian nuclear icebreakers. The company also manages the country's fleet of special-purpose vessels.

The vessel (IMO number 8838582) is Russia-flagged (MMSI 273132300) and registered in Murmansk.

The sistership Rossiya (1985) was decommissioned in 2013.

The list of active Russian nuclear icebreakers includes Arktika (2020), Sibir (2021), Ural (2022), Taymyr (1989), Vaygach (1990), Yamal (1992, sistership), 50 Let Pobedy (2007, sistership), and Sevmorput (1988/cargo ship).

Among Russia's largest icebreaker ships, Sovetskiy Soyuz is a nuclear-powered icebreaking vessel of the Arktika class. Her name translates as "Soviet Union". The vessel was docked in Murmansk between 2007 and 2012 and used as a source of spare parts for other Russian nuclear icebreakers.

Sovetskiy Soyuz was initially scheduled to be officially decommissioned in 2014 and subsequently scrapped. However, in 2012 Russia decided to repair the vessel and extend her operational life by another eight years. The decision was taken after NS Rossiya was taken out of service for nuclear fuel recharging while several new-generation Russian icebreakers were still under construction.

The Sovetskiy Soyuz icebreaker's operational program includes missions in the Kara Sea (part of the Arctic Ocean north of Siberia) and Ob Bay (located in Northern Russia at the mouth of the Ob River). Russia's nuclear icebreaker fleet operates exclusively in the Arctic Ocean, escorting merchant ships and supporting research stations operating in ice-covered waters north of Siberia. These vessels are also used for scientific expeditions and Arctic cruise voyages. Russian nuclear icebreakers must operate in extremely cold waters to efficiently cool their reactors.

NS Sovetskiy Soyuz vessel details

NS Sovetskiy Soyuz belongs to the Arktika-class nuclear ships — until 2017 the world's largest and most powerful icebreakers ever constructed.

NS Sovetskiy Soyuz is one of six vessels of the Arktika class — together with Sibir (1977-1992), Arktika (1975-2008), Rossiya (1985-2013), Yamal (1992), and 50 Let Pobedy (2007).

The vessel has one dining room, sauna, library, auditorium, passenger lounge, volleyball court, gymnasium, one indoor heated swimming pool, infirmary, one elevator, and one helipad (helicopter deck) used by a Mi-2 transport helicopter.

• DWT (deadweight tonnage): 2750 tons
• Displacement tonnage: 20650 tons
• Clear path width: 50 m (164 ft)
• Draught: 8 m (26 ft min) / 11 m (35 ft max)
• Icebreaking capacity: 2.8 m (9 ft)
• Ice class: LL1
• Range: unlimited (up to 4 years endurance)
• Powerplant: 2x OK-900A nuclear reactors (each 171 MW, combined 342 MW output)
• Propulsion: turbo-electric, 3 shafts, 3 electric motors (17.6 MW each, 52.8 MW total output)

Note: In case of poor AIS coverage, tracking the vessel's current location may be impossible. You can see CruiseMapper's list of all icebreakers and icebreaking research ships in the "itinerary" section of our Icebreakers hub, where all countries and their fleets are listed.