Russia Drops Contract for Two Icebreakers Over Sanctions

Russia has canceled a contract with the Onega Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Plant for the construction of two icebreakers, citing the impact of international sanctions.

The RUB 18.5 billion agreement, signed in 2021, was terminated by the state-owned enterprise ROSMORPORT on July 10th, the Russian Vedomosti reported.

The vessels were to be auxiliary Icebreaker7-class ships, 95 meters long, with a capacity of 12–14 MW. They were designed to operate in ice up to 1.5 meters thick and run on both diesel and liquefied natural gas.

They were intended for year-round operations in the Baltic, White and Barents seas, and in the Arctic Ocean during the summer and fall.

The ships were originally scheduled for delivery in 2024 at the Great Port of St. Petersburg, but the deadline was pushed to 2026.

Construction never began due to sanctions.

Despite no work being done, ROSMORPORT transferred an advance payment of RUB 9.27 billion to the plant. Following the termination, the company was ordered to return the funds within five working days.

The project had been expected to involve subcontracting to Turkey’s Kuzey Star Shipyard, but those plans collapsed after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.