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
"Arktika"-class icebreakers have a double hull, with the outer hull being approximately 48 mm thick at the ice-breaking areas and 25 mm thick elsewhere. There is water ballast between the inner and outer hulls which can be shifted to aid icebreaking. Icebreaking is also assisted by an air bubbling system which can deliver 24 m³/s of air from jets 9 m below the surface. Some ships have polymer coated hulls to reduce friction. "Arktika"-class ships can break ice while making way either forwards or backwards. Although they have two reactors, normally only one is used to provide power, with the other being maintained in a standby mode.