Since the winter of 1978-79, one of the most advanced Arcticmarine transport systems in the Arctic has been the year-roundoperation comprised of rail traffic between the mines of the Miningand Metallurgical Company Norilsk Nickel to the port in Dudinka,on the Yenisei River and then the 231 nautical mile sailing toMurmansk, on the Kola Peninsula.

MMC Norilsk Nickel is the world’s largest producer of nickel andpalladium, and is among the top four platinum producers in theworld, as well as among the top 10 copper producers. MMC NorilskNickel is also a large global enterprise with production facilities inthe Russian Federation, Australia, Botswana, Finland, the UnitedStates and the Republic of South Africa.

Mining in the Norilsk area began in the 1920s. The region quicklybecame a critical supplier of non-ferrous metals within the SovietUnion. During the 1950s, the Northern Sea Route Administrationwas tasked with building a year-round Arctic marine transport systemon the western end of the NSR and into the Yenisei.

The development of large, nuclear icebreakers came first withthe Lenin in 1959 (world’s first nuclear surface ship) followed by asmall fleet of larger icebreakers of the Arktika class. These icebreakerswere designed to create tracks in the ice for lower-poweredcargo ships to sail in convoy astern of a lead icebreaker.

With unlimited endurance, the nuclear icebreakers could provideyear-round services in the deeper waters along the majorroutes of the NSR. Ice-strengthened cargo ships and shallow-drafticebreakers came next. By the 1978-79 winter season there wasenough icebreaking capacity to maintain year-round navigation byconvoying ships from the Yenisei west across the Kara Sea and intothe Barents Sea to Murmansk. A continuous flow of non-ferrousmetal concentrates could be maintained to smelters on the KolaPeninsula and to other industries in the Soviet Union.

During 1982-87 a new icebreaking cargo ship, the SA-15 orNorilsk class, was delivered by Finland’s former Valmet and Wartsilashipyards to the Soviet Union. Nineteen of these Arctic freighters(174 m length and 19,950 dwt) were built and several today remainin service on the route between Dudinka and Murmansk.

In many respects, the Norilsk class multi-purpose carriers revolutionizedArctic shipping in the same manner as the commercialcarrier M/V Arctic developed for the Canadian Arctic during thesame years. With high propulsion power (21,000 shp), the Norilskclass ships could operate under their own power as an icebreaker.These ships carried cargoes the length of the NSR in summerduring the late 1980s; during the winter they were used effectivelyto support the Norilsk-Dudinka operation.

Their proven capability for independent navigation through icefields without icebreaker support was a significant technologicalachievement, as well as a notable advance in efficient (and costeffective)Arctic marine operations. The successful operation ofthese ships was a harbinger of the future for Arctic marine transport.

In April 1988, a new, shallow-draft polar icebreaker namedTaymyr was delivered to the Soviet Union by Wartsila’s Helsinkishipyard. A single nuclear reactor was installed at the Baltic shipyardin (then) Leningrad, and the ship was ready for service alongthe NSR and in the shallow Siberian rivers by 1989. A secondship of the class, Yaygach, was added to the Murmansk ShippingCompany’s icebreaker fleet in 1990.

The design of this class represents the apex in the developmentprocess for the Soviet polar icebreaker fleet. Coupled in its designare Finnish advances in shallow-draft ship design with nuclear propulsiondeveloped in the Soviet Union. A draft of only 8 meters wasattained with Taymyr, which compares favorably with the average11-meters draft of the largest Soviet icebreakers of the period. Apower plant producing 44,000 shp provided a capability of continuouslybreaking 1.8 meters of level ice at a 2-knot speed. Thesecapabilities fit perfectly with the requirements for icebreaking (levelriver ice) on the shallow Yenisei River to the port of Dudinka; theseextraordinary nuclear ships could maintain an ice track out to theKara Sea through the winter in nearly all conditions.

Year-round shipping to Dudinka functioned throughout the1990s and the early years of the new century despite the financialchallenges facing the Russian Federation. MMC Norilsk Nickelwas restructured several times and since 2001 the company hasflourished, focusing on economic efficiencies, foreign marketingand potential investments. The marine transport component alsoreceived significant attention as the SA-15 Norilsk class ships supportingthe Dudinka run began to age.

The company’s marine operations department worked closelywith the Finnish shipbuilder Aker Yards to develop a new freighterclass that would be owned and operated by MMC Norilsk Nickel.The vision was for a fleet of five icebreaking containershipsdesigned for year-round operations. The first of the ships, NorilskNickel (168 meter length, 14,500 dwt, 650 TEU capacity), was completedin Helsinki early in 2006. The new ship is designed as a “double-acting hull” and is fitted with an azimuthing pod for propulsion.

The Azipod concept, as it is called, allows the ship to move sternfirst efficiently in the ice; the ship is designed to break 1.5 meter thick ice unassisted. In light ice or open water, Norilsk Nickel turns 180 degrees and moves bow first. Ice trials for the new ship were conducted in March 2006 in the Kara Sea and Yenisei River, and the vessel achieved a 3-knot speed continuously moving through 1.5 meter thick ice.

Norilsk Nickel has performed well in operating unassisted (without icebreaker escort or convoy) during its initial two years of service. With four more of the class being built in Germany, MMC Norilsk Nickel will have an operational fleet of five icebreaking carriers, all highly capable of operating independently through the winter season to serve the port of Dudinka. Safe and efficient, the Norilsk Nickel class ships represent a new concept of Arctic marine operations. They will enhance a regional, Arctic marine transport system in western Siberia and better link a key Russian commercial enterprise to world markets.