Ilya Muromets (2016 icebreaker)

In March 2014, the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation announced that the Russian Navy would receive a new auxiliary icebreaker as part of the ongoing fleet renewal program. The vessel, designed by the Russian Vympel Design Bureau as Project 21180, would be the first new military icebreaker built in Russia since the Soviet era. The construction of the new auxiliary icebreaker was awarded to Saint Petersburg-based Admiralty Shipyard. The keel of the vessel was laid on 23 April 2015 the second a 1941-built steam-powered icebreaker acquired from Germany as war reparations; the third a 1965-built diesel-electric Dobrynya Nikitich-class icebreaker. the Ministry of Defence decided not to begin the serial production of the Project 21180 due to high cost of the vessels. Instead, it will focus on building smaller Project 21180M icebreakers with about two thirds of the displacement and more limited functionality compared to the bigger vessel. == Design ==

Although the 6,000-ton Ilya Muromets is the largest icebreaker ever built for the Russian Navy, she is somewhat smaller than the civilian icebreakers operated by Atomflot, Rosmorport and Sovcomflot. In terms of size and general layout, the vessel is comparable to the civilian Project MPSV06 multi-purpose salvage vessels with a working deck aft, deckhouse amidships and a helideck rated for Kamov Ka-27 helicopter. Like her civilian counterparts, Ilya Muromets is also equipped with a towing winch and stern notch for escorting other ships in ice conditions. azimuthing Z-drive propulsion units with five blades on the pulling and four blades on the pushing propeller. This configuration provides higher propulsion efficiency at a cost of added mechanical complexity. In addition, the vessel has a bow thruster for maneuvering. Ilya Muromets is classified by the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping. Her ice class, Icebreaker6, requires the vessel to be capable of operating in level ice with a thickness of in a continuous motion and her hull strengthened for navigation in non-Arctic waters where ice can be up to thick. == References ==