Arktika-class icebreaker
The "Arktika" class is a Russian (former Soviet) class of nuclear-powered icebreakers. Formerly known as "Project 10520 nuclear-powered icebreaker", they were the largest and most powerful icebreakers until the 2016 launch of the ship named Arktika. Ships of the "Arktika" class are owned by the federal government, but were operated by the Murmansk Shipping Company (MSCO) until 2008, when they were transferred to the fully government-owned operator Atomflot. Of the ten civilian nuclear-powered vessels built by Russia (and the Soviet Union), six have been of this type. They are used for escorting merchant ships in the Arctic Ocean north of Siberia as well as for scientific and recreational expeditions to the Arctic.
Sparta (ship)
Pack ice meant nearby vessels such as the Norwegian "Seljevaer" and the "Sparta's" Russian sister ship "Chiyo Maru 3" were unable to come to "Sparta's" aid. The crew of the "Sparta", made up of 16 Indonesians, 15 Russians and a Ukrainian researcher, had to wait until 26 December 2011 when the South Korean icebreaker "RV Araon" arrived. One of the "Araon's" first tasks was to pump fuel into the raised side of the "Sparta", thus lifting the damaged hull and exposing it to the air. The hole was patched with a concrete box, after which the ship was deemed seaworthy. The "Araon" cleared a path through the ice for the "Sparta" to follow into open waters, to rejoin her sister ship and sail to New Zealand for repairs.