Kuzey Star Shipyard held a steel-cutting ceremony on December 7, 2021, for the construction of a floating pool intended for nuclear icebreakers, in collaboration with Atomflot, a ship operator operating under Rosatom, Russia's nuclear energy corporation. Representatives from Atomflot, the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RMRS), the Ship Engineering Bureau (MEB), and Kuzey Star Shipyard attended the ceremony. The construction of the floating pool, to be completed in a total of 29 months including delivery, will commence at Kuzey Star Shipyard and will be deployed at the Murmansk Port.
Planned to serve with a capacity of approximately 30,000 tons and a crew of 30, the floating pool will accompany icebreakers engaged in year-round transportation of raw hydrocarbons under Arctic conditions. According to the agreement, the floating pool, with a lifting capacity of 30,000 tons, will be 220 meters long and 48 meters wide. The pool, with a slip deck of at least 200 meters in length and a pontoon height of 6 meters, will be capable of hosting up to 30 personnel for 7 days without setting foot on land, based on diesel fuel and drinking water storage, as well as waste and domestic water collection capacities. The floating pool will accompany icebreakers engaged in year-round transportation of raw hydrocarbons under Arctic conditions.
