Krasin (1976 icebreaker)

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NSF picture of Russian icebreaker Krasin on its way to McMurdo Sound, Antarctica
History
Russia
NameKrasin
NamesakeLeonid Borisovich Krasin
OwnerFar East Shipping Company (FESCO)[2][3]
Port of registryVladivostok,  Russia[1]
BuilderWärtsilä Helsinki Shipyard, Helsinki, Finland
Yard number400[1]
Completed28 April 1976[1]
Identification
StatusIn service
General characteristics [1]
TypeIcebreaker
Tonnage
Displacement20,247 tons
Length134.84 m (442.4 ft) (overall)
Beam
  • 25.97 m (85.2 ft) (moulded)
  • 26.05 m (85.5 ft) (max)
Height45.60 m (149.6 ft) from keel[3]
Draft11.00 m (36.09 ft)
Depth16.71 m (54.8 ft)
Ice classLL2
Installed power9 × Wärtsilä-Sulzer 12ZH40/48 (9 × 3,385 kW)
Propulsion
  • 3 × Strömberg DC motors (3 × 8,820 kW)
  • Three fixed pitch propellers
Speed
  • 20.30 knots (37.60 km/h; 23.36 mph) (max)
  • 19.8 knots (36.7 km/h; 22.8 mph) (service)[3]
  • 2 knots (3.7 km/h; 2.3 mph) in 1.8 m (5.9 ft) level ice[4]
Aviation facilitiesHelipad and hangar[3]

The Krasin (Russian: Красин) is a Russian (formerly Soviet) icebreaker. The vessel operates in polar regions.

History[edit]

The ship was built at the Wärtsilä Helsinki Shipyard in Helsinki, Finland in 1976.[3] Named after an early Bolshevik leader and Soviet diplomat Leonid Krasin and an earlier icebreaker of the same name.

Design[edit]

The second Krasin is a triple-screw diesel-powered icebreaker owned by the Far East Shipping Company (FESCO) and is based in Vladivostok. The hull has a friction-reducing coating.[5]

Krasin can break ice 6 feet (2 m) thick.[6]

Service[edit]

During the 2004–2005 season (Operation Deep Freeze 2005), the United States Antarctic Program hired the Krasin as a secondary vessel to help clear a channel to McMurdo Station[7] because the Coast Guard icebreaker Polar Star faced a record cut through fast ice of more than 90 miles (140 km). The Krasin departed Vladivostok on December 21, 2004, and arrived at the Ross Sea ice edge one month later.[6][8]

The Krasin departed the Ross Sea on 9 February, reaching Vladivostok on March 5, 2005. She is unlikely to return to the Antarctic as FESCO have signed a multi-year contract for Krasin to support oil rig operations in the Sea of Okhotsk from March 2005 onwards.[6] Along with her sister ship Admiral Makarov, Krasin has been providing winter escort to large capacity tankers from the port of De-Kastri (Khabarovsk) as part of the Sakhalin-I project.[9] During the summer months she provides escort on the Northern Sea Route to the Eastern sector of Arctic servicing sea terminals of North Chukotka.[10]

In September 2022, it was announced that Krasin's 1974-built sister ship Ermak would be dismantled for parts to keep the 1976-built icebreaker in service.[11]

On April 1, 2023 Krasin left Murmansk after undergoing classification directed repairs to engines, hull, propulsion motors, and headed for the Northern Sea region, serving the Baltic, White, Caspian, Azov, Okhotsk, Japan, and Kara seas.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Krasin (740150)". Register of ships. Russian Maritime Register of Shipping. Retrieved 2012-10-28.
  2. ^ a b "Krasin (7359644)". Equasis. Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy. Retrieved 2011-10-13.
  3. ^ a b c d e "FESCO vessels: Krasin". Fesco Transport Group. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
  4. ^ The world icebreaker, ice breaking supply and research vessel fleet Archived October 29, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. Baltic Ice Management, February 2011. Retrieved 2011-10-07.
  5. ^ "Ship Resupply 2005/2006" (PDF). U.S. Antarctic Program. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
  6. ^ a b c "Krasin". Antarctic Philately. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
  7. ^ "Russian Ice-Breaker Krasin Heading for Antarctic to Rescue U.S. Polar Station McMurdo". Russian Embassy Press Release. 2004-12-21. Archived from the original on 2005-02-17. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
  8. ^ "U.S., Russian icebreakers open path to Antarctic base". USA Today. February 6, 2005. Retrieved 2008-01-09.
  9. ^ "Ice Breakers left Vladivostok for Sakhalin Coast". Vladivostok Times. December 24, 2006. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
  10. ^ "Icebreaker the Krasin pursued to East Arctic". FESCO. Archived from the original on 2011-10-02. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
  11. ^ "Ледокол "Ермак" разберут на запчасти для ремонта "Красина"" [Icebreaker "Ermak" will be dismantled for spare parts for the repair of "Krasin"] (in Russian). RBC. 20 September 2022. Retrieved 21 September 2022.

External links[edit]