Indigenous icebreakers

摘要

A major stage in the development and modernisation of the Russian icebreaker fleet has been completed with the recent commissioning of the Sankt-Petersburg, the second of two 14,300-ton-displacement diesel-electric sisters constructed by Baltiysky Zavod. As with first-of-class Moskva, the latest vessel is intended to keep Russian trade lanes open in the Gulf of Finland during the winter months. However, the new breed has multifunctional qualities, capable of undertaking a whole range of tasks besides fulfilling the key role of providing icebreaking escort to tankers operating to and from the Port of Primorsk, in the eastern Baltic, a vital interface for Russia's oil trade.