the keel laying ceremony of the first vessel was held on 19 may 2005 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. however, it took more than a year before the first new diesel-electric icebreaker was finally delivered to rosmorport on 11 december 2008.