Sanctions prevented russia from building two icebreakers

This was reported by the russian publication Vedomosti.

The agreement, signed in 2021, provided for the construction of 95-metre Icebreaker7 class icebreakers with a capacity of 12–14 MW.

These are vessels capable of moving through ice up to 1.5 metres thick and operating on both diesel fuel and liquefied natural gas. Such vessels have not been built in russia before, according to the report.

‘The icebreakers were intended for year-round operation in the Baltic, White and Barents Seas, as well as in the Arctic Ocean in the summer and autumn,’ the report said.

They were supposed to be delivered to the customer in 2024, then the deadline was moved to 2026, but construction was effectively halted due to sanctions.

Initially, it was planned that the ships would be built under a subcontract at the Turkish shipyard Kuzey Star Shipyard, but the agreement was broken after russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Despite the fact that no work was carried out, Rosmorport paid SSZ an advance payment of 9.27 billion roubles. Now the shipyard has been ordered to return these funds within five working days after the termination of the contract.

Source: Economic Pravda