New icebreaker for Russian Navy

One of many new icebreakers being built for private and public entities in Russia (see Ships Monthly, May 2016), the 84m by 20m diesel-electric Ilya Muromets has been launched by the Admirality Shipyard in St Petersburg.

She is the first of a planned series of four project 21180 ships, all of which will have a displacement of 6000 tons and an open-water speed of 15 knots.

As the first naval icebreaker to be built in Russia in 45 years, Ilya Muromets will undergo final outfitting at St Petersburg through the remainder of this year before joining the country’s Northern Fleet in early 2017.

To be operated by a crew of 35 the Russian naval icebreaker Ilya Muromets will have a range of over 3,500 miles and will be able to operate autonomously for up to 60 days. Credit: Russian Ministry of Defense