Vyborg Shipyard Laid Keel for Second Project 21900M Icebreaker

12.12.2012 Solemn keel-laying ceremony of the Project 21900M diesel-electric open-sea icebreaker was held today on Dec 12 at JSC Vyborg Shipyard ahead of scheduled date. The ship is being built by the order of Federal Marine and River Transport Agency.

Representatives of United Shipbuilding Corporation, Federal Marine and River Transport Agency, FSUE Rosmorport, and Russian Maritime Register of Shipping attended the ceremony. Traditional plaque was attached to the ship's hull section. The icebreaker's keel-laying ceremony was closed with starting of the unique metal sheet bending press that has force up to 1,000 tons and is capable to bend details out of 50-mm flat steel and even thicker.

"Formerly, our yard could bend only 20-mm thick details, and maximal force of the press was 450 tons. With conversion to building icebreakers where outside planking make 40-50 millimeters, the shipyard faced a problem of bending such details. Thanks to fielding of this press, Vyborg Shipyard would acquire the capability to work with metal sheets of required thickness", commented the shipyard's director Alexander Solovyov.

The icebreaker is to be delivered in Oct 2015. In total, it is planned to build three icebreakers under this updated project. The first Project 21900M diesel icebreaker was laid down on Oct 17, 2012.

JSC Vyborg Shipyard is one of the largest shipbuilding companies in Northwest Russia. Since its foundation in 1948, the yard has built over 200 various vessels with overall displacement of over 1,550,000 toms. In May 2012, JSC Vyborg Shipyard joined United Shipbuilding Corporation.