Moskva (2007 icebreaker)

Moskva (Russian: Москва; literally: Moscow) is a Russian Project 21900 diesel-electric icebreaker. Built at Baltic Shipyard in 2008, she was the first non-nuclear-powered icebreaker built in Russia after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Moskva under construction in Saint Petersburg in July 2008
History
Russia
Name: Moskva (Москва)
Namesake: Moscow
Owner: Rosmorport[1]
Port of registry: Saint Petersburg[2]
Ordered: December 2004[3]
Builder: Baltic Shipyard (Saint Petersburg, Russia)
Cost: $75 million[4]
Yard number: 05601[2]
Laid down: 19 May 2005[5]
Launched: 25 May 2007[6]
Completed: 11 December 2008[7]
Identification:
Status: In service
General characteristics [2]
Class and type: Project 21900 icebreaker
Tonnage:
Displacement: 14,300 t (14,100 long tons)
Length: 114 m (374 ft)
Beam: 27.5 m (90 ft)
Draught: 8.5 m (28 ft)
Depth: 12.40 m (41 ft)
Ice class: RMRS Icebreaker6
Installed power:
Propulsion: Diesel-electric; two Steerprop SPO 4.5 ARC azimuth thrusters (2 × 8,200 kW)
Speed:
  • 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) in open water
  • 3 knots (5.6 km/h; 3.5 mph) in 1 m (3.3 ft) ice
Crew: 25[7]
Aviation facilities: Helideck for Ka-32 and Ka-226[6]

Moskva has an identical sister ship, Sankt-Peterburg, built in 2009. In addition, three icebreakers of slightly upgraded design (Vladivostok, Murmansk and Novorossiysk) were built in 2015–2016.

Development and construction
Main article: Project 21900 icebreaker

In July 2004, the Saint Petersburg-based Baltic Shipyard won an international tender for the construction of two 16-megawatt diesel-electric icebreakers for Rosmorport, a state-owned company established in 2003 to manage Russia's port infrastructure and operate its fleet of diesel-powered icebreakers.[4] Although the shipyard had built five Arktika-class nuclear-powered icebreakers in 1975–1992 and had the sixth under construction at the time, these would be the first non-nuclear icebreakers built on a Russian shipyard in over three decades and the first new icebreakers ordered following the dissolution of the Soviet Union.[8] While the state budget did not initially allocate funding for the new icebreakers, the construction was nonetheless set to begin already in 2004 and the lead ship was to be delivered by November 2006.[4]

The keel laying ceremony of the first vessel was held on 19 May 2005[5] and the hull was launched on 25 May 2007, slightly behind the original schedule. At the time, technical readiness of the vessel was estimated to be 70 % and the delivery was still expected by the end of the year.[6] However, it took more than a year before the first new diesel-electric icebreaker was finally delivered to Rosmorport on 11 December 2008.[7]

Project 21900 icebreakers are named after major Russian cities with the lead ship, Moskva, named after the capital city of Russia. Previously, the same names were used for a series of five Soviet-era diesel-electric polar icebreakers built by Wärtsilä in the 1960s;[9] the previous Moskva was in service in 1960–1992.[10]

Design
Moskva in Saint Petersburg in 2010.

Moskva is 114 metres (374 ft) long overall and 103.68 metres (340 ft) between perpendiculars, and has a moulded beam of 27.5 metres (90 ft). Fully laden, the 14,300-tonne (14,100-long-ton) icebreaker draws 8.5 metres (28 ft) of water.[2] She is strengthened for icebreaking according to Russian Maritime Register of Shipping ice class Icebreaker6 which is intended for icebreaking operations in non-Arctic freezing seas where the ice is up to 1.5 metres (5 ft) thick.[11]

Moskva has a fully integrated diesel-electric propulsion system with main diesel generators supplying power for both main propulsion as well as ship's service loads while underway. Her main power plant consists of two 4,500-kilowatt (6,000 hp) 9-cylinder Wärtsilä 9L32 and two 6,000-kilowatt (8,000 hp) 12-cylinder Wärtsilä 12V32 medium-speed diesel engines.[2] In addition, there are two 670-kilowatt (900 hp) Wärtsilä 4L20 auxiliary diesel generators for use when the vessel is at port.[3][12]

For main propulsion, Moskva is fitted with two electrically driven azimuth thrusters. The 4.5-metre (15 ft) stainless steel propellers[13] of her pushing-type Steerprop SPO 4.5 ARC[14] Z-drive units are each driven by two 4,100 kW (5,500 hp) electric motors in tandem,[2] resulting in a combined propulsion power output of about 16 megawatts (21,000 hp).[7] This is enough to give Moskva a service speed of 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) in open water[2] and allow breaking 1-metre (3.3 ft) level ice with a 10-to-20-centimetre (4 to 8 in) snow cover at a continuous speed of 3 knots (5.6 km/h; 3.5 mph) in line with her ice class.[11][13] While the azimuthing propulsion units improve the maneuverability of the icebreaker,[7] she is also fitted with a single transverse bow thruster.[3]

Career

The two Project 21900 icebreakers were originally built to ensure year-round transportation of crude oil from the terminal in Primorsk.[4] Moskva's primary mission was to escort oil tankers up to 50 metres (164 ft) in breadth in the Gulf of Finland. In addition, she was designed to carry out various secondary tasks such as firefighting and oil spill response operations.[7]

Since 2016, Moskva has occasionally been stationed in the Arctic LNG terminal of Sabetta in the Gulf of Ob during the winter months.[15]

Moskva has participated in the annual Festival of Icebreakers in Saint Petersburg once. The icebreaker was open to visitors in 2015.[16]

gollark: What I *would* be interested in is some sort of low-power long-battery-life pocket computer with LoRa radios, an e-paper-ish visible-in-sunlight screen, and the ability to read text and type a bit.
gollark: Maybe when small-scale manufacturing improves.
gollark: Not currently.
gollark: Modems run weird proprietary code.
gollark: Raspberry Pis aren't open hardware.

References
  1. "Moskva (9326574)". Equasis. French Ministry for Transport. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  2. "Moskva (050211)". Register of ships. Russian Maritime Register of Shipping. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  3. "Moskva (9326574)". Sea-web. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  4. "Для Приморска построят ледоколы" (in Russian). dp.ru. 21 October 2004. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  5. ""Росморпорт" закажет Балтийскому заводу второй ледокол" (in Russian). Kommersant. 16 May 2005. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  6. ""Балтийский завод" спустит на воду многофункциональный ледокол проекта "Москва" 25 мая" (in Russian). PortNews. 25 May 2007. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  7. "The Moskva to serve St. Petersburg". PortNews. 12 December 2008. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  8. "RosMorPort takes delivery of diesel-electric icebreaker Moskva built by Baltiysky Zavod". PortNews. 11 December 2008. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  9. Wärtsilä-yhtymä O/Y Hietalahden telakka (1960), 22000 ahv:n polaarijäänmurtajat Moskva ja Leningrad, Helsinki: Oy Weilin & Göös Ab
  10. "Moskva (5242495)". Sea-web. Retrieved 2015-11-23.
  11. "Rules for the Classification and Construction of Sea-Going Ships, Part I: Classification". Russian Maritime Register of Shipping. 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  12. "Почти 4 млн рублей за запчасти к ледоколу «Москва» отдаст Росморпорт" (in Russian). Sudostroenie.info. 7 November 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  13. "STEERPROP : Build biggest ever Azimuth Propulsors". Seohyun E&C Co. Ltd. 16 April 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  14. "The icebreaker of Pr.21900". Marine Propulsion Systems Ltd. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  15. "Атомоход «50 лет Победы» выйдет после планового ремонта в начале марта" (in Russian). PortNews. 18 January 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  16. "World's Only Festival of Icebreakers to Be Held in Saint-Petersburg on May 2 – 3". Navigator Logistic. 18 April 2015. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
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