The Federal Agency for Maritime and River Transport has published its 2021-2022 winter plan for the icebreaker fleet arrangement.
According to this document, all nationally owned icebreakers are distributed over the basins - the Arctic, Far East, Baltic, Azov and Caspian. A similar document is drawn up by the agency's specialists annually - it takes into account future cargo flows, the composition of transport vessels, ice forecasts. As general, a few changes are made to the arrangement - the same icebreakers have been operating for many years on the approaches to base ports or on Arctic routes.
Traditionally, the "50 years of victory", "Yamal", "Arktika" nuclear-powered ships will enter the Northern Sea Route. Next March the new "Siberia" nuclear-powered icebreaker will join them. "Taimyr" and "Vaygach" will operate in the Yenisei Bay and in the Ob Bay of the Kara Sea. The "St. Petersburg" diesel-powered icebreaker will participate in pilotage of ships on the approaches to the port of Sabetta. Novorossiysk, Kapitan Khlebnikov and Magadan are based in the Far East. In the Azov Sea, assistance to cargo ships will be provided by four icebreakers and two icebreaking tugs, in the Caspian Sea and in the port of Astrakhan - three icebreakers. In the Gulf of Finland, ships will be guided from the ice edge to the port of St. Petersburg - Captain Sorokin, Murmansk, Viktor Chernomyrdin, from the ice edge to the port of Vysotsk and Vyborg - Captain Dranitsyn, Vladivostok, water area of the port of Ust-Luga - "Kapitan Nikolaev", "Kapitan Plakhin".
Changes in the arrangement of icebreakers took place only in the White Sea basin. In the summer, the Tor icebreaker, which had been operating in the port of Sabetta, was included in the Arkhangelsk branch of Rosmorport. The crew, consisting of northerners sailors, was sent to this icebreaker one year ago. The port of registry Arkhangelsk, probably forever, left the "Kapitan Kosolapov" built in 1976. In its younger years, it was indispensable at the mouths of Onega and Pechora, when the transport fleet had a hard time in difficult ice conditions. By order of Rosmorrechflot, Kapitan Kosolapov moved to the Baltic in autumn, Vyborg became its base port.
For the entire period of ice escort on the route from the White Sea Throat to the port of Arkhangelsk, Dikson and Tor will be involved. The February to May arrangement plan also includes the "Admiral Makarov" icebreaker, which will provide escort of ships from the ice edge to the port of Kandalaksha. From December to May in the port waters of Arkhangelsk, and, if necessary, in Onega and Severodvinsk the Kapitan Chadayev and Kapitan Evdokimov icebreakers will conduct cargo ships.
Photo collage - from the ship archive of the icebreaker "Dixon"
Source: Pravdasevera.ru