Russian President Vladimir Putin gave the green light on Friday for the construction of a new nuclear icebreaker, called
“Leningrad”
, crucial for the polar ambitions of Moscow which wants to make the waters of the Arctic an essential commercial route to the 'Asia.
“It will have to operate on the Northern Sea Route, participate in the most important programs of exploration and research in the Arctic and ensure the delivery of goods
,” declared Vladimir Putin in a speech delivered at the site of the shipyards of the Baltic, in Saint Petersburg (northwest), under a gray sky.
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Its future deployment should help Moscow ensure its supremacy in the Arctic, while Russia is confronted in the region with the ambitions of other powers, notably China, but also its Western rivals including the United States.
Expanding trade via frozen Arctic waters
The ship will be called
“Leningrad”
, the Soviet name for Saint Petersburg,
“a new tribute”
to the
“courage”
of the inhabitants of the former imperial capital in the face of the Nazis, Vladimir Putin underlined Friday, on the eve of the celebrations commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of the siege of Leningrad during the Second World War.
This new nuclear-powered ship built by the atomic giant Rosatom, more than 170 meters long, will be able to break ice up to three meters deep.
Since 2022, Russia must redirect its hydrocarbon deliveries to Asia, vital for its economy hit by Western sanctions, the European market being almost completely closed to it as a result of its assault in Ukraine.
Hence the urgent need to increase and modernize its fleet of nuclear icebreakers, which make it possible to pave the way for oil tankers and other LNG carriers transporting hydrocarbons extracted mainly in Siberia.
To develop trade via the frozen waters of the Arctic, the Russian authorities are finally counting on the
“Northern Sea Route”
, a route made more navigable due to the melting of the ice caused by climate change.
On Friday, the boss of Rosatom, Alexeï Likhatchiov, indicated that 36 million tonnes of goods had transited via this maritime route in 2023,
“a record”
.
Russia, the only country in the world to have a fleet of nuclear icebreakers, has inaugurated three new ships in recent years and a gigantic boat, more than 200 meters long, is due to see the light of day in 2027.