New waters: the Russian Federation proposed to create a research icebreaking fleet

The Russian Federation has remained a leader in exploring the Arctic region for many years due to the presence of a fleet created for this purpose, but insufficient attention and underfunding have led to the formation of a number of problems in this area. This was stated by Nikolai Patrushev, head of the coordinating body, at a meeting of the Scientific and expert Council of the Russian Maritime Collegium. According to Mikhail Kovalchuk, deputy chairman and head of the scientific expert council of the collegium, it is necessary to develop a comprehensive program for the development of the Arctic, create an interdepartmental consortium that will implement it, combine all existing vessels of various government agencies into a single scientific fleet, and also build new research icebreakers.

Fleet for Arctic exploration

A meeting of the Scientific and Expert Council of the Russian Maritime Collegium was held in Moscow on March 24. It was dedicated to the development of the country's scientific fleet and Arctic research. During his speech, the head of the coordinating body, Nikolai Patrushev, said that Mikhail Kovalchuk, President of the Kurchatov Institute National Research Center, had been appointed deputy chairman of the board by decree of the President of the Russian Federation.

Russia has been a leader in Arctic scientific research for many years, Nikolai Patrushev said. The country is solving the tasks of ensuring a national presence and protecting its interests in the Arctic. The Russian scientific research fleet has always been considered a leader in the study of the world's oceans. However, insufficient attention and underfunding have led to a number of problems, he added.

— Over the past 30 years, the fleet has become obsolete and has shrunk to a critical minimum. The average age of scientific courts is about 34 years. The vessels are worn out by more than 80%. Their operation is much more expensive than modern foreign analogues. Such a discrepancy in the composition and condition of the Russian research fleet with modern requirements and the scale of the tasks facing our country in the field of marine scientific research threatens to lose our country's leadership in the field of Arctic research. The anti—Russian sanctions are exacerbating the accumulated problems," Nikolai Patrushev said.

According to him, it is necessary to increase research, deepen knowledge about the region and develop a research fleet. In November 2024, the Council of the Maritime Board for the protection of the national interests of the Russian Federation in the region was held. As a result, federal executive authorities were given instructions to improve the overall coordination of Arctic scientific work, form a comprehensive program for the scientific and technological development of the Arctic and increase scientific and educational potential. The relevant work is already underway, the chairman of the Maritime Board added.

"I consider it necessary to work out additional measures to create favorable conditions for conducting marine scientific research, increase the competitiveness of Arctic science, and organize the construction of a research fleet, including dual-use vessels," said Nikolai Patrushev.

New scientific research icebreakers

According to Mikhail Kovalchuk, head of the scientific expert council of the Board, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Maritime Board, Russia is the world's largest Arctic power both in terms of territory in the Arctic sector and in terms of the population in this zone, which exceeds 2 million people. Huge reserves of various resources are concentrated there. However, the Arctic has a very fragile ecology, and therefore its development must be delicate and carried out on a deep scientific basis.

This work should be comprehensive, which should ensure simultaneous movement in all directions. This includes energy, Arctic-class materials, transport, communications, and new special shipbuilding. The basis of these studies is the scientific fleet. Russia had about 300 vessels distributed across all departments. But today there are very few large displacement ships left. And there are only a few large ones, such as Academician Mstislav Keldysh, Academician Ioffe and Academician Sergey Vavilov, Mikhail Kovalchuk said.

— There are three ways to solve this problem. It is necessary to develop and approve a scientific research program in the Arctic very quickly, because today it is fragmented and not integrated. It is also necessary to create an interdepartmental consortium by order of the government. It will include all the organizations that will implement this program. Finally, it is necessary to find ways to integrate the research fleet and involve possible vessels located under the roof of different departments in the implementation of this program," Mikhail Kovalchuk added.

It is necessary to restore and repair the fleet, as well as create new ships. Today, the construction of icebreakers of the 22220 series is underway in the country. Continuing this line, it is necessary to create a multidisciplinary nuclear research vessel of the ice class. In fact, it will be an icebreaker retrofitted for scientific purposes. With successful operation, it is possible to create several such ships, and this will dramatically strengthen the presence of the Russian Federation in the oceans, Mikhail Kovalchuk suggested.