Project 22220 icebreaker
The first ship, ("Арктика" – Arctic), was laid down in November 2013 and is expected to enter service in 2019. Launched on 16 June 2016, the ship will be the world's largest and the most powerful icebreaker surpassing the "50 Let Pobedy".
The second ship of this class, "Sibir" – ("Сибирь" – Siberia), was laid down on 26 May 2015 at Baltic Shipyard. On 1 July 2016, the hull of "Sibir", one third of the ship and weighing 3,500 t, was shifted to the place of the launched "Arktika" icebreaker, where construction will be completed. The shift made place for the start of the construction of the hull of the icebreaker "Ural" – ("Урал" – Ural). Construction of the Ural started on 25 July 2016.
Nuclear-powered icebreaker
A nuclear-powered icebreaker is a nuclear-powered ship purpose-built for use in waters covered with ice. The only country constructing nuclear-powered icebreakers is Russia. Nuclear-powered icebreakers have been constructed by the USSR and later Russia primarily to aid shipping along the Northern Sea Route in the frozen Arctic waterways north of Siberia. Nuclear-powered icebreakers are much more powerful than their diesel-powered counterparts, and although nuclear propulsion is expensive to install and maintain, very heavy fuel demands and limitations on range, compounded with the difficulty of refueling in arctic region, can make diesel vessels less practical and economical overall for these ice-breaking duties.