50 Let Pobedy

50 Let Pobedy (Russian: 50 лет Победы; "50 Years of Victory", referring to the anniversary of victory of the Soviet Union in World War II) is a Russian Arktika-class nuclear-powered icebreaker.

History
Russia
Name50 Let Pobedy (50 лет Победы)
Namesake50th anniversary of the end of the Great Patriotic War
OwnerRussian Federation
OperatorFSUE Atomflot
Port of registryMurmansk,  Russia[1]
BuilderBaltic Shipyard
Yard number705
Laid down4 October 1989
Launched29 December 1993
Commissioned23 March 2007[2]
Maiden voyage2007
Identification
StatusIn active service
General characteristics [3]
Class and typeArktika-class icebreaker
Tonnage
Displacement25,168 tons
Length159.6 m (524 ft)
Beam30 m (98 ft)
Draught11 m (36 ft)
Depth17.2 m (56 ft)
Installed power
Propulsion
  • Nuclear-turbo-electric
  • Three shafts (3 × 18 MW)
Speed18.6 knots (34.4 km/h; 21.4 mph) (maximum)
Endurance7.5 months
Crew189
Aircraft carried1 × Mi-2, Mi-8 or Ka-27 helicopter
Aviation facilitiesHelipad and hangar for one helicopter
50 Let Pobedy on a Russian stamp

History

Construction on project no. 10521 started on 4 October 1989, at the Baltic Works in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg), USSR. Originally the ship was named Ural. Work was halted in 1994 for lack of funds, so that the actual fiftieth anniversary of Victory Day in 1995, after which she was named, found the ship in an abandoned state. Construction was restarted in 2003.

On 30 November 2004, a fire broke out on the ship. All workers aboard the vessel had to be evacuated while the fire crews battled the fire for some 20 hours before getting it under control; one worker was sent to the hospital.

She was finally completed in the beginning of 2007, after the 60th Anniversary. The icebreaker sailed into the Gulf of Finland for two weeks of sea trials on 1 February 2007. Upon completing sea trials, the icebreaker returned to St. Petersburg Baltic shipyard and started preparations for her maiden voyage to Murmansk. The new ship showed superior characteristics for an icebreaker, such as exceptional maneuverability and a top speed of 21.4 knots (39.6 km/h; 24.6 mph).

She arrived at her homeport Murmansk on 11 April 2007.

The icebreaker is an upgrade of the Arktika class. The 159.60 m (524 ft) long and 30.0 m (98 ft) wide vessel, with a displacement of 25,840 metric tons, is designed to break through ice up to 2.5 metres (8.2 ft) thick. She has a crew of 140.[1][4][5][6][7]

50 Let Pobedy is also an experimental project; for the first time in the history of Russian icebreakers the design incorporated a spoon-shaped bow. As predicted by the ship's designers, such a shape increases the efficiency of the ship's efforts in breaking the ice. The icebreaker is equipped with an all-new digital automated control system. The biological shielding complex was heavily modernized and re-certified by the State Commission. A new ecological compartment was created.

The ship has an athletic/exercise facility, a swimming pool, a library, a restaurant, a massage facility, and a music salon at the crew's disposal.

Arctic tourism

Since 1989 the nuclear-powered icebreakers have also been used for tourist purposes carrying passengers to the North Pole. Each participant pays up to US$45,000 for a cruise lasting two weeks.[8] The Fiftieth Anniversary of Victory contains an accommodation deck customised for tourists.

Quark Expeditions chartered 50 Let Pobedy (which they refer to as 50 Years of Victory) for expeditions to the North Pole in 2008. The ship carried 128 guests in 64 cabins in five categories.

As of February 2013, Quark Expeditions as well as international polar cruise company Poseidon Expeditions were both offering North Pole cruises on 50 Let Pobedy.[9][10] On 30 July 2013 50 Let Pobedy reached the North Pole for the 100th time in the history of icebreaker navigation during one of Poseidon Expeditions cruises.[11]

In October 2013, the vessel carried the Olympic Flame to the North Pole, in the runup to the 2014 Winter Olympics[12]

In August 2017, the vessel set a new record for transit time to the North Pole, making the journey from Murmansk to the Pole in 79 hours, arriving at 02:33 AM on 17 August 2017.

References
  1. "Russian Registry of Ships". Archived from the original on 5 September 2010. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
  2. "Атомный ледокол "50 лет ПОБЕДЫ"". polarpost.ru. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  3. "Atomic Icebreakers Technical Data". rosatomflot.ru. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  4. Anastasia Yakonuk (26 February 2007). "A ship called 'Fifty years after the victory'". Sveriges Radio. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 8 March 2007.
  5. "Titans of the Upper Latitudes". Aeroflot in-flight magazine. 2006. Archived from the original on 21 June 2006. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
  6. "Russia to get new nuclear-powered icebreaker this year". Bellona.org. 1 March 2006. Retrieved 2 February 2007.
  7. "Quark Expeditions fleet information". Quark Expeditions. 17 March 2008. Archived from the original on 18 June 2008. Retrieved 25 June 2008.
  8. "ARC-NTH-14D2018: 2018-06-13". www.quarkexpeditions.com. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  9. "North Pole". Quark Expeditions. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  10. "I/b 50 Years of Victory". Poseidon Expeditions. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  11. "100th achievement of the North Pole". Poseidon Expeditions. 31 July 2013.
  12. "Den olympiske ild kom forbi Nordpolen". Maritime Denmark (in Danish). 27 October 2013.
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