NUCLEAR EDUCATION IN RUSSIA
2026-03-11 16:54

Rosatom accepted design developed by United Shipbuilding Corporation for Arctic-class container ship

Rosatom has approved the design for an Arctic-class container ship, which was developed by the design team of the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC).

The vessel will have an Arc7 ice class, which guarantees its reliable and safe operation in the Arctic. It will be able to navigate independently through first-year ice up to 1.7 meters thick, which is essential for ensuring smooth year-round navigation in certain sections of the Northern Sea Route.

The container ship is designed in accordance with the existing icebreaking assistance system. Its width of 35 meters matches the width of channels thatProject 22220 universal nuclear icebreakers make. This will minimize resistance and maximize the safety of assisting ships in heavy ice conditions.

Other specifications include a hull length of 255 meters, a diesel-electric power plant with a capacity of 46 MW, and a container capacity of more than 4,800 TEU (a twenty-foot equivalent unit is a standard unit equivalent to the volume of a 20-foot container). Propulsion will be provided by two electric propulsion motors with a power of 15 MW each, driving fixed-pitch propellers. This design ensures high reliability and precise control in icy conditions.

The contract was implemented considering all of the customer's technical requirements with interim validation of the results based on the analysis of the vessel's specifications. The results were also verified and approved by Rosatom’s Chinese partner in the project.

Reference

In 2024, at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Rosatom and a Chinese shipping company signed a memorandum of understanding to organize regular container services along the Northern Sea Route (NSR). Following this, the parties established a joint venture named Northern Sea Route Shipping Line. Among its other objectives, the joint venture will place orders for the design and construction of high ice-class container ships.

The completion of the preliminary design has been aligned with Rosatom's plans to expand container shipping along the Northern Sea Route. Incidentally, in late September 2025, the container ship "Istanbul Bridge" completed the first ever transit voyage along this route, traveling from China to Europe (ports in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Germany). The voyage took only 18 days (for comparison with a usual voyage along the Suez Canal, which takes 30 days). A total of 24 container voyages were made in 2025 and the volume of goods transported exceeded 410,000 tonnes, which represents a more than double increase compared to the previous year.

The comprehensive development of the Russian Arctic is a national strategic priority. To increase the NSR traffic is crucial for the successful fulfilment of the tasks set in the field of transportation and cargo delivery. This logistics corridor is developing due to cargo shipping on a regular basis, construction of new nuclear icebreakers and modernization of the relevant infrastructure. Rosatom companies are actively involved in these efforts.