This is starting to add up to real money.
From The Barents Observer, July 23, 2019:
Rosatomflot announces tender for additional two nuclear-powered icebreakers
The fourth and fifth icebreakers of the LK-60Ya type have a price tag of 50 billion Rubles (€710 million) each.
Arctic sea ice is melting, but Moscow bids on increased need for powerful icebreakers.....MORE
The tender with a total value of 100 billion Rubles (€1,42 billion) is announced on the Russian official site for procurement information. Contracter is Atomflot, the state enterprise operating the fleet of nuclear-powered icebreakers based in Murmansk.
The two new icebreakers are similar in design as the “Arktika”, “Sibir” and “Ural” that currently are at different stages of construction and testing at the Baltic Yard in St. Petersburg. First one to sail north next year is “Arktika” to be followed by “Sibir” in 2021 and “Ural” in 2022. Uranium fuel elements where loaded into the two reactors of “Arktika” in May this year and testing will now continue for some months at the yard.
The two additional icebreakers of the class have to be ready by December 20th 2024 and December 20th 2026 the tender details read.
With the formal announcement of the tender, it is now clear that Russia will get five of LK-60Ya nuclear-powered icebreakers. The icebreakers are the world’s most powerful civilian ships ever built. With an overall power of 175 MW the turbine-generators delivers 81,000 hp to the propellers....
