''50 Let Pobedy'' (; "50 Years of Victory", referring to the anniversary of victory of the Soviet Union in World War II) is a Russian

nuclear-powered icebreaker A nuclear-powered icebreaker is an icebreaker with an Nuclear marine propulsion, onboard nuclear power plant that produces power for the vessel's propulsion system. Although more expensive to operate, nuclear-powered icebreakers provide a number ...

. The ship was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one ...

in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

in 1989, and construction was halted by the

Russian government The Russian Government () or fully titled the Government of the Russian Federation () is the highest federal executive governmental body of the Russian Federation. It is accountable to the president of the Russian Federation and controlled by ...

in 1994 following the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

. Construction was restarted in 2003 and completed in 2007.

History

Construction on project no. 10521 started on 4 October 1989, at the

Baltic Works The OJSC Baltic Shipyard (''Baltiysky Zavod'', formerly Shipyard 189 named after Grigoriy Ordzhonikidze) () is one of the oldest shipyards in Russia and is part of United Shipbuilding Corporation today. It is located in Saint Petersburg in th ...

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

(now

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

), 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 Victory Day is a commonly used name for public holidays in various countries, where it commemorates a nation's triumph over a hostile force in a war or the liberation of a country from hostile occupation. In many cases, multiple countries may ob ...

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 The Gulf of Finland (; ; ; ) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and Estonia to the south, to Saint Petersburg—the second largest city of Russia—to the east, where the river Neva drains into it. ...

for two weeks of

sea trial A sea trial or trial trip is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a "shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on op ...

s 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 Murmansk () is a port city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast in the far Far North (Russia), northwest part of Russia. It is the world's largest city north of the Arctic Circle and sits on both slopes and banks of a modest fjord, Ko ...

. The new ship showed superior characteristics for an icebreaker, such as exceptional manoeuverability and a top speed of . She arrived at her homeport

on 11 April 2007. The icebreaker is an upgrade of the ''Arktika'' class. The long and wide vessel, with a

displacement Displacement may refer to: Physical sciences Mathematics and physics *Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...

of 25,840 metric tons, is designed to break through ice up to thick. She operates with a crew of 140. ''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 The bow () is the forward part of the hull of a ship or boat, the point that is usually most forward when the vessel is underway. The aft end of the boat is the stern. Prow may be used as a synonym for bow or it may mean the forward-most part ...

. As predicted by the ship's designers, such a shape increases the efficiency of the ship's efforts in breaking ice. The icebreaker was equipped in 2007 with a 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. On 26 January 2025, ''50 Let Pobedy'' collided with the

dry bulk Bulk cargo is product cargo that is transported unpackaged in large quantities. Description Bulk cargo refers to material in either liquid or granular, particulate (as a mass of relatively small solids) form, such as petroleum/crude oil, ...

cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's List of seas, seas and Ocean, oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. ...

''Yamal Krechet'' while transiting the

Kara Sea The Kara Sea is a marginal sea, separated from the Barents Sea to the west by the Kara Strait and Novaya Zemlya, and from the Laptev Sea to the east by the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago. Ultimately the Kara, Barents and Laptev Seas are all ...

. The collision resulted in damage to the port side edge plating in a section of the bow of the ship. However, the damage did not affect the operational capability of the ship, nor compromise the security of the ships nuclear reactor. No crew were injured.

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. The ''Fiftieth Anniversary of Victory'' contains an accommodation deck customised for tourists.

Quark Expeditions Quark Expeditions, a travel company headquartered in Seattle, Washington (as of 2017), offers Polar regions of Earth, polar region expeditions aboard expedition ships and icebreakers. The itinerary changes between polar regions with the season ...

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. 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 Poseidon Expeditions is a tour operator company that provides expedition cruises to the North Pole and the Extreme North (Russia), Russian High Arctic aboard icebreakers and Ice class, ice-strengthened ships. The company started in 1999. Histo ...

cruises. In October 2013, the vessel carried the

Olympic Flame The Olympic flame is a Olympic symbols, symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. The Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece, several months before the Olympic Games. This ceremony s ...

to the North Pole, in the runup to the

2014 Winter Olympics The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXII Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Sochi 2014 (), were an international winter multi-sport event that was held from 7 to 23 February 2014 in Sochi, Russia. Opening ro ...

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

LNG carrier An LNG carrier is a tank ship designed for transporting liquefied natural gas (LNG). Overview The first oceangoing liquified natural gas tanker in the world was '' Methane Pioneer'', which entered service in 1959 with a carrying capacity of ...

Christophe de Margerie Christophe de Margerie (, 6 August 1951 – 20 October 2014) was a French businessman. He served as the chairman and chief executive officer of French oil corporation Total S.A. Early life Christophe de Margerie was born in Mareuil-sur-Lay-D ...

'' from China to the north Russian port of Sabetta on the

Northern Sea Route The Northern Sea Route (NSR) (, shortened to Севморпуть, ''Sevmorput'') is a shipping route about long. The Northern Sea Route (NSR) is the shortest shipping route between the western part of Eurasia and the Asia-Pacific region. Ad ...

Sovcomflot Sovcomflot () is Russia's largest shipping company, and one of the global leaders in the maritime transportation of hydrocarbons, as well as the servicing and support of offshore exploration and oil and gas production. History In 1973, the Gover ...

video via ''

The Siberian Times ''The Siberian Times'' was an English-language online newspaper founded on July 12, 2012. According to the editor of the website, Svetlana Skarbo, their aim is to challenge stereotypes about Siberia, which she believed were "negative and out of ...

'', 17 February 2021. {{Nuclear surface ships 1993 ships Arktika-class icebreakers Ships built at the Baltic Shipyard

History

Arctic tourism

References

External links