Ice-breaker
(RIA Novosti / Vadim Zhernov)
A state-run
company that operates atomic ice-breakers in Russia may soon become private.
AtomFleet
has been removed from the list of previously untouchable assets.
This,
however, does not mean the state is going to sell it off completely. The
presidential order is expected to allow the fleet to be put up for auction,
while still keeping 100 per cent of it as state property under the supervision
of RosAtom.
Military
specialists say the main reason behind the move is economic. Ever since the
company became part of state-owned RosAtom, the losses experienced have
amounted to millions of dollars annually. Private companies operating in
northern Russia immediately started looking for cheaper alternatives.
The
situation was worsened by the growing popularity of diesel ice-breakers. As a
result, the demand for nuclear-powered icebreakers went down, while the
maintenance cost of nuclear-powered icebreakers remained the same, making them
highly unprofitable to operate.
Russia has
been the only country to produce nuclear-powered icebreakers. Currently,
Russia’s atomic fleet owns four two-reactor icebreakers (“Rossiya”, “Soviet
Union”, “Yamal”, and “50 Years of Victory”), two one-reactor icebreakers
(“Taimyr” and “Vaigach”), the “Sevmorput” container ship, and five floating
technical aid units.
Nuclear
icebreakers are not the only pieces of Russian equipment rumored to be put
aside.
Earlier
there were media reports that the Russian Navy was getting rid of its most powerful submarines, the Typhoon class.
Designed to
carry big nuclear warheads, the Typhoon-class submarines are the largest in the
world. However, their immense size was said to be the main reason why the
country decided to decommission the underwater veterans.
The
vessels, it was said, did not meet the terms of the new START treaty signed by
Russia and the US in the spring of 2010. The long-awaited treaty considerably
limited the strategic arsenals of each country to 1,550 nuclear warheads.
The rumors,
however, proved to be a hoax.
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