The assembly of the RITM-200 reactor vessel for Russia's nuclear icebreaker Leningrad has officially commenced.

The Leningrad is the fifth nuclear icebreaker under Project 22220, designed to operate along the Northern Sea Route (NSR). The vessel was laid down in January 2024.

Maxim Tyukavkin, Deputy Head of Rosatom’s Mechanical Engineering Division, remarked, “The Mechanical Engineering Division of Rosatom has launched the mass production of RITM-200 reactor units.”

“This is yet another impressive demonstration of the absolute leadership of our domestic industry. Our successful history of manufacturing and operating the cutting-edge RITM reactor units provides a solid basis for reaching the goals of the Northern Sea Route development and SMR technology promotion,” he added.

Each nuclear icebreaker in Project 22220 is equipped with two RITM-200 reactor units, each delivering 175 MW of thermal capacity.

This power makes the icebreakers the most potent in the world, capable of breaking through ice up to 3 meters thick and achieving speeds of up to 22 knots.

To date, 10 RITM-200 reactor units have been manufactured for the Project 22220 icebreakers, with another 8 units currently being produced for both nuclear icebreakers and floating power units.

The Northern Sea Route, stretching approximately 5,600 kilometers from the Barents and Kara Seas to the Bering Strait, is the shortest shipping route connecting Western Eurasia to the Asia-Pacific region.

In 2024, a record 37.9 million tons of cargo were shipped along the NSR, and 92 transit voyages were made.

Rosatom, appointed by the Russian Government as the infrastructure operator for the Northern Sea Route, is responsible for overseeing the federal project "Development of the Northern Sea Route."

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