Once, at a press conference with his Danish colleague Lars Lekke Rasmussen, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said that Russia would launch the most modern icebreaker to develop the Northern Route. The specialists decided to give the icebreaker the name of Vitus Bering, meaning that he is, firstly, a Dane, and secondly, an outstanding Russian explorer. According to plans, this icebreaker will be launched in St. Petersburg at the end of 2012.

Icebreaker "Russia" in the floating dock ("Leonid Brezhnev, "Arktika")

Tells L.G. Tsoi, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Prof., Head of the Laboratory of Icebreaking Equipment, TsNIIMF, St. Petersburg

In the last decade, the area of ​​ice cover in the Arctic has decreased by a third, the thickness of ice has decreased on average from 3 to 1.8 m (according to Anglo-American data). In 2009, the international project AMSA was completed (assessment of the impact global warming on Arctic shipping) of the Arctic Council, which includes the ministers of foreign affairs of the Arctic states. During the project, climate forecasts for 2020-2050 were considered. With a linear extrapolation of today's warming, by the middle of the 21st century, one can expect a complete release of ice from the coastal zone of the Arctic Ocean.

The first confirmation of such a forecast was navigation in 2008, when a through passage clear of ice formed along the entire Northern Sea Route (NSR) in summer. The same situation was observed along the Northwest Canadian Passage. The multi-year ice of the Canadian straits melted, and in September 2008 the straits were free of ice. It would seem that the warming trend is clearly evident.

Russia did not participate in this project. But TsNIIMF performed an independent predictive assessment of the competitiveness of transit flights (container transportation) along the NSR in a year-round mode under light ice conditions. The economic efficiency of the northern transit turned out to be comparable to the traditional southern route through the Suez Canal (one and a half times longer).

Russian scientists believe that the ongoing warming in the Arctic is cyclical. And AARI specialists are confident that the next cooling cycle will begin in the coming years. (The same data comes from the researchers of the polar expedition SP-36, who in March 2009 reported a decrease of 0.50 in temperature, typical for the Arctic at this time of the year). This means that new complications of navigation should be expected in the Arctic.

A consequence of the protracted springs of 2008 and 2009. ice will melt slowly. The year 2009 has already brought navigation complications in the Pechora Sea basin, creating problems for our oilmen who export oil to Europe from the Varandey terminal. During May, when temperatures are still low, the ice continues to grow. In previous years, icebreaking shuttle tankers built in Korea (the lead one, Vasily Dinkov), quite easily passed this route from Varandey to Murmansk in 4 days on their own, without the support of icebreakers. These tankers have good ice-breaking ability: according to calculations, 1.7-1.8 m. Oil was transported quite regularly. The oil was discharged into a floating reservoir (in the hull of the Belokamenka large-capacity tanker) in the Kola Bay.

Now the complications began. Especially for LUKOIL, the Varandey icebreaker with a capacity of 23 MW with two rudder propellers was built. He recently started work. And already out of order, and was sent for repair. The tankers were forced to walk on their own. The tanker "Kapitan Gotsky" of the type "Vasily Dinkov" got into compression of the ice. A long, 250-meter tanker with a large cylindrical insert, stood for 12 hours in ice compression, unable to move, waiting for the ice to stop moving.

In the Arctic, such situations are not uncommon. Ice compresses the ship. And then the squeezing winds begin to blow, and the ship manages to escape from captivity. True, such situations are not always resolved safely. The oilmen may also have troubles. A pipe is a pipe. Oil must be transported constantly. Onshore storage capacities at Varandey are not unlimited. LUKOIL began negotiations with Atomflot on the possibility of attracting nuclear-powered icebreakers.

The conditions of spring navigation in 2009 in the Pechora Sea are quite a serious "call" for navigators and shipbuilders. Not everything is so simple in the Arctic. We cannot relax in anticipation of global warming.
Domestic tankers and icebreakers are built for a long service life. In new projects, it is necessary to take into account possible complications of navigation conditions in the near future. Moreover, it is proposed to increase the standard service life of new icebreakers from 25 years to 40 years. When designing icebreakers and ships, it is necessary to predict operating conditions for the same period. The icebreaking fleet will certainly be in demand, and it must be improved and developed in a timely manner.

Heavy navigation experience in the Arctic

The Arctic “pleased” navigators with heavy navigation in the 1970s and 1980s. Young Arctic captains and design engineers can only read about this in books. But the older generation of the burrows of the Arctic learned from their own experience. In those years, not only expeditions, but even the planned delivery of goods was difficult to carry out. From the Arctic, ore carriers exported ore and non-ferrous metals mined by the Norilsk MMC. Since 1978, when the small-draught icebreaker Kapitan Sorokin, specially built for the Yenisei, with a shaft power of 16.2 MW, came into operation, year-round navigation has been established.

It was clear that year-round navigation was possible only with icebreaking assistance: nuclear-powered icebreakers on the offshore section of the route in the Kara Sea and shallow-draft icebreakers in the Yenisei. Later, after making sure that the diesel-electric icebreakers of the Kapitan Sorokin type were insufficiently ice-breaking, at the end of the 80s, to ensure regular reliable movement along the Yenisei, two small-draught nuclear icebreakers (a / l) of the Taimyr type were built with a shaft capacity of 32.5 MW. The ice there is not easy, freshwater with a dense snow cover, it reaches 2-2.3 m in thickness. low temperatures impossible. The channel can be operated more or less efficiently for a month. Ice freezes. The porridge formed from the passage of ships, freezing, turns into a continuous hummock. The channel becomes impassable. It is more profitable to lay a parallel second channel than to constantly update the first one.

Experience of navigation in the 1970s-1980s. showed that for reliable year-round escort of caravans of ships, powerful icebreakers and corresponding icebreaking transport vessels are needed. A new generation of Arctic container carriers of the Norilsk Nickel type has been built. They work on the DAS double action system. Due to the use of the propeller-steering column, Azipod can also walk backwards.

A navigation system for ice reconnaissance has also been set up. Satellite images of the Arctic route are received by a special ship terminal and combined with maps. For the offshore section, this is a great help for captains. And in the Yenisei, the canal is still heavy. Without icebreakers in this section, container ships will not be able to operate efficiently. Now MMC Norilsk Nickel leases shallow-draft nuclear-powered ships and is going to build its own diesel-electric icebreaker of the LK-25 type with a capacity of 25 MW on shafts, having the same icebreaking capacity as the Taimyr a/l, equal to 2 m.

The Arctic is the Arctic. The weather is extremely changeable. At any moment you can expect the most unpredictable surprises. The route of the NSR is quite long, about 3 thousand miles. And, as a rule, the principle of superposition acts on it: it is difficult in the east - easy in the west, and vice versa. A passage can be found in the sea, and the straits, if clogged with ice, block the wiring. Of course, nuclear-powered icebreakers, which have unlimited autonomy and high mobility, come to the rescue. They can be quickly redeployed from one area to another, depending on the need for their assistance.

Navigation 1983 in the Eastern Arctic

During that navigation, the ship "Nina Sagaydak" was lost, which was crushed by ice. This is a Pioneer type motor ship of the lower arctic class L1 (according to modern classification - Arc4). Vessels of this type successfully operated under icebreaker escort during summer navigation.

As a rule, Arctic navigation begins in July. The delivery of goods from the east is carried out to Pevek, and already from it there is a delivery to Tiksi and other destinations. And in that navigation everything started as usual. The icebreaking fleet of the Far Eastern Shipping Company coped well with the task. The two most powerful (26.5 MW each) diesel-electric icebreakers: Yermak and Admiral Makarov, as well as the Kapitan Khlebnikov icebreaker (of the Kapitan Sorokin type) and the Leningrad and Vladivostok type icebreakers "Moskva" with a capacity of 16.2 MW on shafts, built in Finland. The last two of the first icebreaking series of the 1960s. Dry-cargo vessels of the Belomorskles and Pioner type with a deadweight of about 5 thousand tons, tankers for the delivery of oil products of the UL class (Arc5) of the Samotlor type with a deadweight of 17 thousand tons of Finnish construction, as well as new vessels of the ULA class ( Arc7) of the Norilsk type (SA-15) with a deadweight of 15 thousand tons, commissioned in 1982-1983. and diesel-electric ship "Amguema" with a deadweight of 5 thousand tons of domestic construction.

In September, the first troubles began. Steady northwest winds blew, which began to shift the Ayon ice massif (in the northern part of the East Siberian Sea) from the pole to the coast. Ice blocked the Long Strait, the approaches to Cape Schmidt and Aion Island. This ice mass consists mainly of hilly two-year ice 2.5-3 m thick, the so-called "Siberian pack". Ice in hummocks, frosts, reaches the very bottom of the icebreaker, which has a draft of 11 m. When interacting with such ice, the propellers and rudders experience very heavy loads.

Extract from a report on the analysis of navigation conditions in 1983

The conditions in which the ship "Nina Sagaydak" found itself before its death.
Navigation in 1983 in the Eastern region of the Arctic was anomalous. The most difficult situation developed in early September. Northwest winds caused the pressure of the drifting ice of the Ayon massif. The route of the Northern Sea Route was blocked by the ice of this massif from the Milker Bank to the Kolyuchenskaya Bay. This position was maintained until September 17. At the same time, a period of stable ice formation began. Ice compression was 2-3 points. In October, the situation deteriorated significantly. There was a record low temperature background with a general anomalous hydrometeorological processes that have never been observed over the past decades.

The ship "Nina Sagaydak" was lost on October 9, 1983 in the Long Strait. In early October, the ship sailed as part of a caravan under the escort of the Leningrad and Kapitan Sorokin icebreakers. Due to the consolidation of the ice due to the strengthening of the north-west wind, the ship was jammed with coarse old drifting ice. Screw and steering wheel jammed. When the ice moved, the rudder arbitrarily shifted from side to side by 90 degrees. As a result, the rudder stock limiters were broken off. The icebreakers could not approach the vessel due to the movement of the ice and the general drift of the massif to the southeast with the pressure of the ice on the vessel, which had leaned on the strong fast ice as a stern. (A similar situation at one time happened with the Chelyuskin, which also caused the death of the ship). Between the ships of the caravan formed a pillow of compressed ice. The motor ship "Kamensk-Uralsky", which was drifting in an uncontrollable state, piled on the port side of the "Nina Sagaydak" as a stern. The roll of the ship "Nina Sagaydak" reached 13o. The situation became more complicated when the Urengoy tanker piled sideways on the Kamensk-Uralsky motor ship. For some time, all three ships drifted together. The hummocking of the ice reached such a level that the ice rose above the bulwark. On October 8, on the Nina Sagaydak, the port side framing from the bow bulkhead to the stern was deformed by 15 spacings at the level of the zygomatic belt of the outer skin, which was broken in 6 places at once - cracks formed along the framing.

The main reason for the destruction of the hull of this ship is drift after losing its course along a strong ice barrier with a strong bulk of other ships on it. A field of multi-year ice approached the starboard side, which increased the compression. In the area of ​​35-37 frames, a skin rupture occurred with deformation of the frames inward and aft. The mechanisms began to collapse and fall into the engine room. (These ships do not have a double hull in the engine room area). There was a rupture of pipelines of irrigation, drainage, oil, air systems. The cable supplying the electric motors of the pumps is broken. The ship was left without drainage facilities. Water began to flow into the engine room. The roll reached 30o to starboard. The deck entered the water and the ship sank. The crew left the ship before the tragedy and was taken by helicopter to the icebreaker.

A vessel of the same type, the Kolya Myagotin, fell into a similar situation. But he was saved. He also got a roll up to 30o. The propeller and steering wheel were jammed. But, fortunately, a hole formed in his first hold. Drainage means were in good order and managed to pump out water. The performance of regular pumps was enough to save the ship. Managed to get a patch. Helicopters delivered sand and cement from Yermak. "Kolya Myagotin" managed to be saved.

Navigational damage 1983

From October 1 to December 4, 1983 (when the last ships were taken out of ice captivity), 17 ships of the Far Eastern Shipping Company were damaged, including 5 icebreakers (Kapitan Khlebnikov, Leningrad, Vladivostok, Admiral Makarov ”, “Ermak”), two icebreaker-transport vessels “Amguema” and “Nizhnyeyansk” (SA-15) of the ULA class, 12 vessels of the Pioneer and Belomorskles type of category L1.

Massive damage to the underwater part of transport ships took place. The icebreakers towed the ships close, and the propellers of the icebreakers threw the ice floes onto the hull of the towed vessel. The design of the bilge area of ​​the hull of the ships was not strong enough. Based on the results of this navigation, the Register Rules were subsequently adjusted and the structure of ships below the ice belt was strengthened.

The epic of the withdrawal of the last caravan

Everything possible was done to rescue ships with cargo for the northern delivery from ice captivity. The atomic icebreakers Arktika (in connection with the death of L.I. Brezhnev, renamed Leonid Brezhnev, until 1986) and Sibir, as well as the diesel-electric icebreaker Krasin of the Ermak class, were urgently sent to the east. ". In Pevek, an armada of icebreakers and ships gathered in the roadstead, which needed to be withdrawn from the Arctic (most of the ships to the east). In the Western region of the Arctic, the Lenin nuclear icebreaker was connected to the operation. In the port of Pevek, two more ships were unloading: Pioneer of Russia and Monchegorsk.

The captain of the flagship icebreaker "Ermak" Yu.P. Filichev reported to the Far Eastern Shipping Company and the Administration of the Northern Sea Route that the situation was critical, hopeless, nature was invincible. Piloting of ships under these conditions is impossible. Vessels must be left for the winter in Pevek. But it was decided to withdraw the fleet from the Arctic.

Of the three nuclear-powered icebreakers, only Leonid Brezhnev was truly operational, which underwent dock repairs in the summer. The underwater part of its hull was cleaned, puttied and covered with Inerta-160 ice-resistant paint. We did not have our own ice-resistant paints then. And our icebreakers up to this point were not covered by Inerta. Strong corrosion-erosion erosion of the hull with a roughness depth of up to 2 mm led to a significant increase in the friction coefficient of ice on the hull skin. Thanks to the resulting “grater”, an increase in the ice resistance of nuclear icebreakers turned out to be equivalent to a 2-fold loss in power.

The icebreaker "Siberia", in addition to the fact that it was not covered by "Inerta", was not yet equipped with a heeling system. After the delivery of the a/l "Arktika" in 1975, a rational proposal was introduced to abandon the heeling system on the rest of the icebreakers of the series. As it turned out later, they got excited. In addition, on the average propulsion engine of the Siberian, the second anchor was out of order. Therefore, its power was less by 1/6.

At the Lenin nuclear-powered icebreaker, also corroded, the icebreaking capacity decreased from the design 1.6 m to 1-1.2 m. But the Lenin a/l worked in the western direction from Pevek, where conditions were easier.

The operation to withdraw ships from Pevek began on 18 November. In the caravan, the a/l Leonid Brezhnev was in the lead, followed by the icebreaker Admiral Makarov with the Samotlor towed, the Krasin with the Pioneer of Russia and the Ermak with the Amguema and Urengoy (changing in turn with "Siberia").

Diesel-electric icebreakers led the ships back to back in tow. He led, laid and leveled the canal, pierced, carried out the direct wiring of the entire caravan a / l "Leonid Brezhnev".

The polar night was approaching. The flag was hoisted at 8 o'clock in the morning, and lowered at sunset at 1 o'clock in the afternoon. When the flight ended, the sun did not appear over the horizon at all. With the help of an airborne helicopter, tactical ice reconnaissance was carried out, and strategic aircraft reconnaissance (there was no satellite reconnaissance then) - from Pevek. Maps of ice fields directly from the pennant were dropped onto the icebreaker.

The ice was very heavy, 3-4 meter thick frosts formed. When laying the channel, the icebreaker kept throwing to the sides. The channel was extremely uneven. On turns, icebreakers often got stuck along with ships. Steel towing slings ("mustache") with a diameter of 60-65 mm (20-25 m long) were torn endlessly. Especially often the slings were torn on the icebreaker "Admiral Makarov". They were missing. I had to use anchor chains from Samotlor. Anchor chains also broke easily. The ships in the caravan were constantly stretched. The icebreaker-leader had to lay a channel, then return to round the stuck ships.

Vessels of the SA-15 type ("Okha" to the east, "Monchegorsk" to the west) went independently in caravans. For the red color of the court of this type was nicknamed "carrots". These vessels have a stern towing cutout. When they got stuck, the leading icebreaker came into their stern, rested with the stem against the towing cutout and pushed the vessel through the cofferdam, working with it in tandem.

This experience has shown that it is expedient to equip all promising large-capacity vessels for the Arctic (tankers, gas carriers) in the stern with a crinoline with a towing cutout to enable them to be pushed by icebreakers. The towing of ships with a mass significantly greater than the icebreaker is excluded in tow. The composition becomes unmanageable.

So we moved east for 8 days. When they approached the Long Strait, at Cape Blossom, about. Wrangel, the happy ones went out to a stretch covered with young ice.

But happiness was short-lived. After o. Wrangel, heavy pack ice began again. In the Chukchi Sea, we were “pleased” with unusual ice only 40-50 cm thick, very viscous, crumpled, frozen. It did not classically break into sectors, did not break, but stuck to the icebreaker's hull along the waterline. The icebreaker literally stuck into a viscous ice mass and dragged it along with it. Departing, blows on the ice had to beat this sticky ice "cotton wool". But such a technique could only be used in small sections of lintels. When they entered the vast field, the situation became literally hopeless.

Only Okha and Yermak had pneumatic washing of the hull. The icebreaker "Ermak" was asked to stand at the head of the caravan in the hope that in this way it would be possible to cope with this unusual ice. But the power of the pneumatic washing was not enough. A way out of the stalemate was suggested by captain-mentor Yuri Sergeevich Kuchiev (under his command, in 1977, the Arktika a/l reached the North Pole for the first time).

The captain of the Leonid Brezhnev was then Anatoly Alekseevich Lamekhov. The nuclear-powered ship turned propellers forward and began to lay a channel due to the eroding effect of the propellers. That is, the principle of double action (DAS system) has long been used by Russian navigators, and the Finns subsequently picked up this initiative and patented it. In reverse, the icebreaker "Leonid Brezhnev" managed to lay a good clean channel. In this way, the entire armada of icebreakers with ships on the "mustache" managed to pass through these ice, leading in reverse.

This case once again showed how diverse and unpredictable the conditions for escorting ships in the Arctic are. Such situations must be taken into account when designing icebreaking transports and icebreakers, developing means for increasing and maintaining icebreaking during the operation of ships.
After 8 days and 5 hours, the caravan approached the Bering Strait. Here, the heavy ice ended, there were streaks. We sent a caravan with diesel icebreakers to Vladivostok. And they themselves with the a / l "Siberia" and the icebreaker "Krasin" returned to the west, where the nuclear icebreaker "Lenin" led the ships "Kamensk-Uralsky" and "Monchegorsk". On the way we caught up with them, as it was easier to go in the western direction, although there was enough work there. We ran back to Pevek 2.5 times faster, with an average speed of 9.7 knots.

Based on the results of this navigation, we prepared proposals for the Ministry of Shipbuilding Industry. Designers need to work on improving new icebreakers. It is necessary to think over the design of the hull not only from the point of view of the perception of ice loads, but also to take into account vibration during icebreaker reverses, work out the arrangement of the foundations of mechanisms, work on the superstructure (wheelhouses, masts), communication and navigation equipment, and its fastening. During this trip, the loads on fasteners during the operation of the icebreaker were measured. Linear accelerations on the masts reached 10g. On the a / l "Leonid Brezhnev" in this navigation fell off the topmast on the foremast.

But more serious troubles are associated with the failure of the propeller blade, however, due to the fault of ship industry scientists who studied the interaction of ice with the blade and installed strain gauges for this, which required milling a groove at the base of the blade. It was on her that a breakdown occurred. "Leonid Brezhnev" was forced to go to Pevek to change the propeller blade.

The whole operation to remove the ships stuck in Pevek was saved by the fact that the a / l "Leonid Brezhnev" was covered in time by "Inerta". And after 8 years of operation, the icebreaker fully restored its icebreaking ability.

Recently, in the Central Design Bureau "Iceberg" a discussion arose again about the use of clad steel with an outer stainless layer for the ice belt of a promising nuclear two-draft icebreaker. The designers are not very supportive of this idea, citing the high cost of two-layer steel and undeveloped electrochemical protection. But clad steel is needed, since today the most resistant organic coating of the Inerta type on icebreakers is quickly erased. After 6 months, the icebreakability starts to fall again, which was confirmed by the example of Leonid Brezhnev in navigation in 1983, which initially had an icebreakability of 2.3 m according to the specification. 13 months after the application of the protective coating, the icebreakability value returned to the values 7 m, corresponding to the state of the icebreaker before painting. When using Inerta, nuclear-powered icebreakers must be docked every year and painted. The costs of decommissioning the icebreaker, docking, and painting are very high. The painting technology itself is complex, it requires compliance with the temperature regime.

Despite the fact that clad steel is an order of magnitude more expensive than ordinary steel, if the bow and ice belt are made from it, with reliable electrochemical protection, the economic effect will be the same and even somewhat higher than when using Inerta. In terms of economics, clad steel will not lose, and such a solution will be much more convenient and easier to operate.

Conclusions from the results of navigation in 1983

For 8 days 5 hours of passage from Pevek to the Bering Strait, 770 miles were covered. The average speed was 3.9 knots. On the leads, the speed reached 17-18 knots, and on separate watches (4 hours), when laying channels, it was possible to pass no more than 2-3 miles. A / l "Leonid Brezhnev" almost constantly worked at maximum power. The average power utilization factor was 95.3%. Immediately after leaving Pevek, trouble began due to the polar night. There was no permanent ice information. At the disposal of the captains of the caravan were only searchlights and a helicopter during daylight hours. In total, we lost a whole day in anticipation of daylight hours, so as not to climb into the ice jungle, from which you can’t get out later.

Most of the towing straps broke on the icebreaker Admiral Makarov. The total number of breaks on all icebreakers was 26. Sometimes 2-3 breaks occurred in one shift.

For the entire time of the escort, the Leonid Brezhnev icebreaker, working with blows, made 2405 reverses, that is, an average of 12 reverses per hour. The maximum number of reverses per hour reached 52. When laying the canal in raids, the icebreaker kept dropping. He rolled, leaning his cheekbone against the unbreakable pieces of pack ice, he was pulled to the side. Then he was forced to level the canal so that ships could pass behind it. The number of jams and okoloks of ships was 87, that is, an average of 10-11 okoloks per day. The icebreaker itself, thanks to the experience of the captain and the smoothness of the hull, was in wedging for only 1 hour 22 minutes, not much for such difficult conditions. A moderate acceleration speed of 6-8 knots and an advance of 0.2-0.3 hulls made it possible to avoid frequent wedges.

The nuclear icebreaker Sibir, of the same type as the a/l Arktika (Leonid Brezhnev), was not even heard in the press. "Siberia" was not covered by "Inerta" and did not have a roll system. Due to the lack of coverage, its icebreaking ability was significantly less. In wedges "Siberia" spent 58 hours, that is, 31% of the marching time. She herself had to be constantly pierced. Sometimes this operation to rescue the a / l "Siberia" from ice captivity was carried out, being in autonomous navigation, the ship "Okha". Due to the corroded hull, the mighty nuclear-powered icebreaker could not work efficiently.

To overcome difficult ice conditions, icebreakers need to be equipped with various means to increase icebreaking: pneumatic washing, heeling and trim systems, etc. Instead of the liquidated heeling system, the a / l "Siberia" was often forced to use a trim system, but technologically it is more difficult and longer, since it is necessary to pump large volumes water. The trim system is used if the heeling system cannot cope with severe jamming. The standard roll system works automatically. Its pumps switch already at a roll of 2-3 degrees, or in conditions of jamming after a predetermined period of time.

What should be the new icebreakers

Promising linear icebreakers designed and built for the Arctic must be more powerful and necessarily nuclear-powered. In navigation in 1983, diesel icebreakers had problems with fuel: they had to pour from tankers, help each other out with fuel. Such problems interfere with the normal wiring of ships. For year-round transit along the NSR (taking into account severe ice conditions), a super-powerful nuclear-powered leader icebreaker with a shaft capacity of at least 110 MW is needed. During the warming of the Arctic, perhaps 60 MW of power, for which the universal two-draft icebreaker of the LK-60Ya type, which is currently being designed, is designed.

It is imperative to take into account the requirement to maintain a smooth hull, using either stainless steel or renewable ice-resistant coatings for less powerful icebreakers. It is necessary to use all possible means of increasing ice-breaking. The experience of a / l "Siberia" showed that the elimination of the heeling system was a mistake, which subsequently had to be corrected during the construction of subsequent icebreakers of the series. Unfortunately, the roll system was not installed at the recently commissioned aircraft “50 Years of Pobedy” due to a banal reason: the Ural plant stopped production of powerful transfer pumps for the system. Although the new icebreaker uses stainless steel and has pneumatic washing.

At one time, the issue of ensuring maneuverability in ice, and especially the reversing of icebreakers, was very acute. An ordinary icebreaker with conventional rudders is uncontrollable when reversing. It was planned to install a water-jet type thruster on the bow. Relevant studies were carried out, a number of model tests were carried out on the initiative of Yu.S. Kuchiev. For medium-sized icebreakers, rudder propellers (Azipods, Aquamasters, etc.) have proven themselves well, including in reverse. There is a lot of engineering work to do in this area.

Big problems remain with the towing device. The Iceberg Central Design Bureau tried to create an automatic hitch device. A prototype was installed on the Yamal icebreaker, but the shipping company did not bother with its development. As a result, this idea died out. To work in heavy ice conditions, a coupling device with automatic winding of the tug is a must. This problem needs to be continued.

The transport vessels themselves must be of higher ice classes. "Samotlors", "Pioneers" then got into difficult ice conditions. They are, of course, suitable for summer navigation. But when it comes to winter fuel delivery, tankers of ice classes no lower than ULA (Arc7) are required, which will be able to work efficiently and safely in a caravan with powerful icebreakers. Then a certain correspondence will be achieved, both in terms of ice propulsion and strength.

All of these problems were highlighted more voluminously as a result of the difficult navigation of 1983. The conclusions on it were presented to the Ministry of the Navy. Taking into account our proposals in the mid-1980s. a draft design of a new nuclear icebreaker-leader with a capacity of 110 MW on shafts (LK-110Ya type) was completed. But the ensuing perestroika buried all these plans. And then the weather got warmer. It began to seem to everyone that swimming in the Arctic was easy and simple.

But is it really so? The Arctic remains unpredictable at all times. Therefore, designers, shipbuilders and shipowners should not relax. There is something to think about.

The first diesel-electric ship in the icebreaker fleet appeared just before 1955. The ship was called "Captain Belousov". It was built at Finnish shipyards, like the same-type icebreakers Kapitan Voronin and Kapitan Melekhov, which entered service in 1955 and 1956. respectively. Special German steel went to the hulls of the ships, and 11 watertight bulkheads ensured survivability in case of damage. The ice belt was made 30 mm thick.

Six engines with a capacity of 1625 hp each turned electric generators that supplied current to the propeller motors, which rotated 2 propellers in front and 2 behind the hull. The difference in the diameters of the stern and bow propellers was 70 centimeters (from 4.2 to 3.5 m). Each of the ships had its own power plant with a capacity of 200 kW. In addition, there was an auxiliary (72 kW) and emergency (15 kW) power plants, powered by diesel engines. The length of the Soviet icebreaker was 77 and a half meters with a width of 19.4 m. Fuel was enough for a cruising range of 8760 miles, the crew consisted of 85 people, autonomy was almost a month. The total height of the side was 16.5 m with a draft of seven meters. All icebreakers of this type worked in Arkhangelsk, Murmansk and the Baltic ports. The thickness of the pierced ice was up to 0.8 meters. Since 1955, icebreakers have been sailing along the Northern Sea Route, but the front propellers get in the way in the Arctic.

Having made a trip in one direction - to the East, the ships wintered there, damaging the propellers. One of the icebreakers, “Captain Belousov”, sailed 3,200 ships through the heavy Arctic ice, and in 1972 was sent to the Sea of ​​Azov. Near Norway, the ship got into a strong storm, several windows were knocked out by waves. Having reached Leningrad, the icebreaker got up for a half-monthly repair, then went to Azov. "Captain Voronin" in the North worked longer than "Captain Belousov", spent 4240 ships. The icebreaker "Captain Melekhov" served until 1977, navigating 7,000 vessels. Designed for service in the Baltic, the icebreakers proved to be no worse in the Arctic. Before the start of the war, the Soviet navy received a powerful icebreaker Anastas, 106.7 m long and 23.2 m wide. It had three steam engines of 3,300 hp each. with. The icebreaker worked until 1968. They built a ship in Ukraine, in the city of Nikolaev.

Several icebreakers of the Joseph series were built. The captain of one of them was MP Belousov. V. I. Voronin sailed on the same ship during the war. There was also an icebreaker of this series called "Vyacheslav Molotov", built in 1940 by the icebreaker "Dezhnev" A. P. Melekhov commanded A.P. Melekhov. This brave captain participated in the escort of the northern convoys in 1942 and died. A German submarine torpedoed the transport, ending his life, and the body of a sailor was found off the coast of the United States and taken to his homeland for burial. This was done by the son of Mikhail Kalinin. The names of the heroes live in the names of the ships. Vessels eventually go to scrap. But new icebreakers are being built, entering service and continuing the work of the past.

During the night we moved only 1°C and are now at 81°N. sh. By lunchtime, we left the last island of the FJL land and literally immediately fell into ice captivity, moving on without a ship is a dubious adventure. Our icebreaker cheerfully breaks the ice, and the tourists are a little swayed. In the afternoon, I managed to talk with the captain of our ship, Dmitry Viktorovich Lobusov.

– Was it your dream to become an icebreaker captain?

- There is no icebreaker, but when you enter the University of the Sea and River Fleet named after Admiral S. O. Makarov, then, of course, in the future you dream of becoming a captain. It took me 18 years to do this. I became one because in the third grade I wanted to be a sailor. Even on New Year's holidays, the guys dressed up as wolves, and I dressed as a sailor. So desire and, of course, study, there is no other way. All sailors leaving for the Arctic for a long time without calling at ports, with a monotonous landscape around, must be able to maintain their efficiency and a bright head. And this is not for everyone.

– What is your work schedule?

- We work in shifts. The duration of one shift is 4 months. In total, there are 2 crews on the icebreaker. The captain chooses his own team. The backbone of our team has been working in the same composition for many years. There are layoffs, but they are rare. The main offense that is not forgiven is alcohol abuse.

– How do you spend your 4 months of vacation?

- At home with my family.

– Tell about your family.

- Married, 2 daughters. My wife is a teacher. Daughters are 22 and 24 years old, one is a designer, the other profession is connected with logistics.

- Not even 5 years ago. In recent years, the situation has changed. For now, I wouldn't bother.

– Are you proud of your work? Are you satisfied with your salary?

– I am satisfied with my choice of profession and I think that I live well. average salary crew - 60 thousand rubles. During the summer months, we receive surcharges for tourists.

– What are you interested in in your free time?

- Lately I have become addicted to photography. (Indeed, on the captain's bridge, I watched the captain more than once during a photo hunt and once witnessed a curious incident. We came close to the iceberg, and the helicopter made a regular flight. The captain, apparently, something was missing to complete the composition. On the radio he I contacted the pilot and asked him to fly as close to the iceberg as possible.

– Have you ever traveled by ship as a tourist?

– Yes, once I went on a cruise to Italy with my family.

– How are the impressions?

- Excellent! You feel that you understand everything, but you are not responsible for anything. (Laughs.)

– Do you have any problems with going abroad? Secret graphs?

- There is a column of secrecy. Although we are a civilian ship, the nuclear icebreaker is a unique invention. There are no problems with going abroad. When I need to leave, I apply to the relevant authorities and they give me permission. There were no problems.

October 17, 1890
was born
Vladimir Ivanovich VORONIN
(10/17/1890, Sumsky Posad - 10/18/1952, Dixon),
legendary captain of the icebreaker fleet.

The famous navigator, captain of the Soviet icebreaker fleet V.I. Voronin was born on October 17, 1890 in the village of Sumy Posad, Arkhangelsk province (now the Republic of Karelia). In a large family of Vladimir Ivanovich there were seven sailors, all his brothers served in the fleet. Among other relatives of Voronin there were also sailors. His cousin Fedor Ivanovich even entered the world Arctic history by saving the Austrian expedition of J. Payer and K. Weyprecht in the Barents Sea in 1884, which discovered Franz Josef Land.

Hereditary Pomor, the most famous polar captain, a participant in ice campaigns that went down in the history of the development of the Arctic.
Born in Sumy Posad on the White Sea, already at the age of eight he took part in fishing with his father on Murman, was a cabin boy on merchant fishing sailboats, went to Norway. He began to sail as a sailor in 1906, combining work with studies at the nautical school. Consistently passed the exams for assistant captain, captain of a small voyage, navigator long-distance navigation. In 1918, he miraculously survived the death of his ship, attacked and sunk by a German submarine.
After graduation civil war Voronin participated in the Kara expeditions of 1920-1921 as a captain of a steamship. Based on the experience of these voyages, being a witness to the sinking of some ships, he expressed a number of important practical considerations on navigation in the Kara Sea.
Since 1926, he was appointed captain of the l / n "G. Sedov", which was then used in the conduct of hunting. Voronin believed that hunting best school for polar captains.
In 1928 Voronin on "G. Sedov" took part in the expedition to rescue the crew of the airship "Italia". The zone of their search was near the FJL. In August, Soviet sailors first landed on about. Land of Alexandra. The distance covered by the vessel in this voyage was equal to the length of the Northern Sea Route. This was his first big voyage in the high latitudes of the Arctic Voronin considered one of the most important.
The following year, Mr. Sedov "under the command of Voronin went to the FJL with a government expedition led by O. Yu. Schmidt. They hoisted the flag of the USSR on the FJL and opened the checkpoint "Tikhaya Bay" on about. Hooker. In this campaign, a record was set for free swimming in high latitudes: 82 ° 14" N. When summing up the results of the campaign, the head of the expedition noted the great contribution of the captain to its successful completion.
In 1930, an expedition led by Schmidt on the "G. Sedov”, led by Voronin, sailed to the north-eastern regions of the Kara Sea, previously not visited by anyone. Four islands were discovered in the Kara Sea: Vize, Isachenko, Voronina, Long. On about. At home, they organized an expedition base consisting of G. A. Ushakov, N. N. Urvantsev, S. P. Zhuravlev and V. V. Khodov, who was to make an inventory of arch. Northern Land.

Expedition to "G. Sedov" to FJL. 1930

In 1932, an expedition was organized led by Schmidt on the A. Sibiryakov" under the command of Voronin. This expedition, which left Arkhangelsk on July 28, managed to reach the Bering Strait on October 1, thereby making the first through voyage through the Northeast Passage in one navigation. A screw was broken in the Chukchi Sea. Having shown perseverance and resourcefulness, the sailors set sail and, using a favorable wind and current, were able to reach clear water. At the ice edge they were met by the Ussuriets trawler, which towed the A. Sibiryakov" in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.
The government, and possibly Schmidt himself, did not objectively analyze the experience of this voyage, which led to unfounded ideas that the Northern Sea Route had already been mastered. In 1933, they planned a voyage of the Chelyuskin steamer, which was not adapted to sailing in ice. In addition to through navigation in one navigation, the task of the expedition was to supply the Soviet colony and change the composition on about. Wrangel, where for 4 years not a single ship could break through. There were many women and two children on board the Chelyuskin (one child was born while sailing in the Kara Sea - Karina Vasilyeva). Voronin, due to poor health, did not want to go on this flight, but at the insistence of Schmidt, he agreed. The history of the Chelyuskin epic is well known. Having fallen into ice captivity in the Chukchi Sea, the ship was crushed by ice and sank on February 13, 1934. Voronin was the last to descend onto the ice and was the last to be taken out of the ice camp by plane on April 13.

After the Chelyuskin epic, Voronin commanded the Yermak icebreaker for three years. Having accumulated vast experience in ice navigation, he published a series of articles on ice navigation and encouraged other polar captains to do the same. He owned the idea of ​​​​creating a book on the tactics of navigation in polar ice.
A serious illness forced Voronin to stop ice campaigns after 1939. The war found him in Leningrad, from where he was evacuated to Ulyanovsk. In such a difficult time for the country, the honored captain could not stay away from practical activities. He achieved a re-examination, having received a certificate: “You can swim in the Arctic, you can’t catch a cold.” In early 1942, Voronin began military service in Arkhangelsk: he lectured, trained military pilots, and in the summer, as a senior pilot, he participated in escorting warships along the Northern Sea Route. In the period 1943-1946. he commanded the icebreaker I. Stalin."
After the war, Voronin was appointed captain of the first Soviet Antarctic whaling flotilla "Glory", which marked the beginning of the Soviet exploration of the Antarctic.
In 1948, he was again the captain of the icebreaker I. Stalin", participating in the Arctic navigation. The 1952 flight ended tragically for Voronin. When escorting ships in the Laptev Sea during the night watch, “On October 12, he went into the navigational cabin, took a compass to draw a point on the map, but suddenly grabbed his heart, then his head and began to slowly sink ... On the way to Dikson on October 18 at 00 hours 45 minutes in the presence of the ship's doctor Ya.A. Volovikov, Captain Voronin passed away as a result of a brain hemorrhage. This is how Murmansk journalist Viktor Prostikhin described this event in his essay. Voronin devoted 50 of his 62 years to the Arctic.
The merits of Captain Voronin are marked by a number of labor and combat government awards, incl. two orders of Lenin. Six objects in the Arctic and two in the Antarctic bear his name, it was given to the Arkhangelsk Naval School and a modern icebreaker.
He was buried in St. Petersburg at the Shuvalovsky cemetery: a black marble stele, a silhouette of the icebreaker “I. Stalin."

An island in the eastern part of the Kara Sea. Opened on August 21, 1930 and gave the name of the expedition to the l / r "G. Sedov.
Cape in the east of. Salisbury arch. FFI. Named in the 1950s by Soviet cartographers.
Glacier on about. Hooker arch. FFI. Named by the expedition to the l / n "G. Sedov" in 1929.
Bay to the hall. Russian Harbor on the west coast northern island New Earth. The name was given by the expedition to the l / r "G. Sedov" in 1930.
A bay in Chernaya Bay and a bay in Sakhanina Bay on the western coast of the southern island of Novaya Zemlya. Named by the Northern Hydrographic Expedition in the 1920s.

Voronin Bay

In 1934, the Swedes built the Ymer, the world's first icebreaker with a diesel-electric power plant, and soon Soviet shipbuilders prepared a project for a vessel with a similar engine, which was to become the most powerful in the world. However, for a number of reasons, it was not possible to complete it, and diesel-electric icebreakers appeared in our fleet only on December 26, 1954, when the Kapitan Belousov, the first in a series of three ships of the same type, raised the flag.

In 1952 in Finland, on the slipway of the shipyard of the Vartsila company (Helsinki), the icebreaker Voima was launched and put into operation the following year. It differed from its predecessors not only in modern contours, but also in a number of design features. So, the formations of its bow were pointed, the side was littered, the elongated forecastle extended to the end of the superstructure rounded in front. The stem was inclined at 23 - 25 degrees, the stern - with a valance. The diesel-electric power plant was powered by two pairs of bow and stern propellers. The ship was equipped with

90 s, and the same number of trim (150 m 3), which were serviced by pumps with a capacity of 1 thousand m 3 of water per hour each.

As on the "Voyma", in the bow, in front of the superstructure, they arranged a hold with a volume of 134 m 3, and at the stern - another (82 m 3), next to which two 10-ton cargo booms were installed. In addition, a towing winch with a pulling force of up to 60 tf and a 200-meter cable was mounted at the stern.

The team was accommodated in comfortable 1-, 2-, and 4-bed cabins. The water heating system maintained a temperature of 17 degrees in them, even if it was 30 degrees outside. Each icebreaker received 4 lifeboats with a capacity of 60 people.

The "Captains" showed themselves well when servicing the Arkhangelsk, Leningrad and Riga ports, they confidently maneuvered on the fairways and in cramped water areas, easily overcame sludge, blizzard fields 600 thick -

high-performance pumps and an automatic towing winch. Finnish shipbuilders designed the Voima to work in the ports and bays of the Baltic Sea.

But at the same time, "Vartsilya" was also engaged in a Soviet order - for three similar vessels intended to serve navigation in the Gulf of Finland and the White Sea. Their design has changed somewhat. The head one, "Captain Belousov", was launched on December 15, 1953, a year later he raised the State Flag of the USSR, and in 1955 and 1956. it was followed by "Captain Voronin" and "Captain Melekhov", also named after famous polar sailors.

Their all-welded hulls, made of especially strong Siemens-Smarten steel, were divided by ten watertight bulkheads into 11 compartments, while it was calculated that the ship would stay afloat when any two were flooded. Longitudinal bulkheads were arranged along the sides, forming 8 tanks. The thickness of the skin at the extremities reached 20 - 25 mm (in the central part of the hull - 15 - 17 mm), the ice belt - 30 mm. In the stern there was a cutout trimmed with oak for towing ward transports "by the mustache".

The power plant consisted of 6 diesel engines with a capacity of 1625 hp each, working on the same number of generators, and they supplied voltage to 4 propeller motors. The power of the power plant could be redistributed, giving, say, a third to the bow propellers and two thirds to the stern, or vice versa, depending on the conditions in which the ship was. Steel four-blade bow propellers had a diameter of 3.5 m, the same stern - 4.2 m.

In addition, each icebreaker of the Kapitan Belousov type had a main power plant equipped with four diesel generators with a total capacity of 200 kW, as well as an auxiliary power plant of 72 kW and an emergency power plant of 15 kW.

Like most icebreakers and,

In 1955, "Captain Belousov" was transferred to the Murmansk Shipping Company, and the rest soon joined it. vessels of this series and began to ensure navigation along the Northern Sea Route. After some time, they revealed some shortcomings. For example, they turned out to be quite complex in design and maintenance, so their operation was more expensive than the old "steam engines". What Admiral S.O. was convinced back in 1899 was also confirmed. Makarov during the first trip of "Ermak" to the Arctic: bow propellers were not suitable for navigation in heavy, multi-year polar ice. And indeed, "Kapitan Belousov" and "Kapitan Voronin" damaged them when escorting ships and were forced to stay for the winter. Spare parts, tools and equipment for repairs had to be sent from Murmansk by plane, and sailors had to work in polar night, and even in 40-degree frost ...

During 17 navigations, "Kapitan Belousov" traveled 375 thousand miles, spent 3200 ships in the ice, after which it was transferred to the Azov Shipping Company. On December 12, 1972, the icebreaker left Murmansk and set off on a long voyage around the European continent. On the way, the captain received an order by radio to assist the icebreakers in the port of Leningrad. In the Norwegian Sea, the ship got into a severe storm, several portholes were knocked out by the waves, it made no more than 3 miles a day. Only on January 6, 1973, "Captain Belousov" moored in Leningrad, repaired the damage, and two weeks later continued the march to the south, which ended successfully - on February 5, she entered the Kerch Strait.

In 1981, the team of "Captain Voronin" summed up the 25-year service in the Arctic. It was impressive - 360 thousand miles traveled mainly in ice, 4240 transports carried out along the Northern Sea Route. "Captain Melekhov" until 1977 was listed in the Ministry navy The USSR, then based on Arkhangelsk, guiding ships through the White Sea. In total, he paved the way for 7,000 transports, leaving over 350,000 astern.

yourself in the best possible way. Finnish engineers, having analyzed the results of its operation, somewhat changed the project, and already in 1958, the construction of Karhu, and then the same type Murtaia and Sampo, was completed at Vartsila. They were smaller than the prototype (displacement of 3200 tons), four main diesel generators were placed in one engine room, the total power of the power plant was 7500 hp. A normal fuel supply allowed each ship to be at sea

Now shipowners of other European countries are also interested in Finnish-built icebreakers. In 1961, the Vartsila company began building four ships of the same type, and if Tarmo and Varma were being prepared for their customers, then Tor and Njord were being prepared for Swedish ones. "Tarmo" was larger than "Voima" (displacement reached 5230 tons), it was distinguished by a more developed superstructure, which was crowned with a wheelhouse with all-round visibility convenient for navigators. Power di-|yusta

Germany, having ordered "Vyartsilya" icebreaker "Hanza" with a displacement of 3700 tons, intended for operation in the western part of the Baltic Sea. This time the Finns took

And, finally, in 1967, the Finns built the Oden for the Swedish Navy, which differed from the Voima in size (displacement 5000 tons) and a diesel-electric power plant of 10.5 thousand liters. In addition, the "Oden" was planned to be multi-purpose - both the icebreaker itself and the supply vessel for warships, so the service rooms, cabins and cockpits were redesigned on it and the structure of the roll tanks was changed.

So, Finnish specialists have created a very successful "American type" icebreaker (with bow and stern propellers). And although it was designed to work in the Baltic, where the ice conditions are much lighter than in the Arctic, ordered Soviet Union"captains" worked quite successfully on the routes of the Northern Sea Route.

"Voyma" became a prototype for other diesel-electric ships built by the Finns on foreign orders. And most importantly, the results of the operation of Voima and its descendants were successfully used to create more powerful icebreakers. It's about about five ships of the "Moskva" type, manufactured by "Vyartsilya" in 1958 - 1969, whose displacement reached 15.3 thousand tons, the power plant consisted of eight pairs of diesel engines and generators that worked on three propeller motors. In 1971, the larger Yermak (displacement 20.2 thousand tons, power plant capacity 41.4 thousand tons) was put into operation, followed by two more ships of the same type. However, they were already made specifically for work in the Arctic - without bow propellers. ■ Igor BOECHIN

YOUTH TECHNIQUE 9 5 9 5