Russia Explores Building Four Icebreakers in India

Russia's flagship Arktika-class icebreakers under construction at St. Petersburg. The orders in India would be smaller and would have conventional powerplants (USC file image)

Russia is reportedly expanding its shipbuilding cooperation with India, with two Indian shipyards being considered for construction of four non-nuclear icebreakers. The project is estimated to cost a total of $713 million. The vessels will join Rosatom’s icebreaking fleet, operating in the Northern Sea Route (NSR).

According to Indian media reports, the government is in talks with two shipyards - one state-owned and the other private - for the construction of the icebreakers. The Russian nuclear agency Rosatom is mandated with the development of the NSR, including managing the icebreaking fleet for the route.

As the West tightens economic sanctions, Russia’s domestic shipbuilding sector is reeling under the pressure of supply chain disruptions. During a two-day state visit to Moscow in July, the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to strengthen cooperation with Russia in areas ranging from nuclear power to shipbuilding. In addition, Rosatom identified India as an important partner in the development of NSR. Particularly, India would benefit from efficient imports of Russian oil, coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG).

The order for the ice-breakers is said to be a follow-up for this agreement between Indian and Russian governments. Although specific details of the order are yet to be made public, a joint working group with experts drawn from the two sides is already in place to finalize negotiations. The joint group held its first meeting last Thursday. India also pushing for its seafarers to get training in polar waters.

With India currently intensifying support for its emerging shipbuilding sector, it is poised to benefit as Russia courts foreign shipyards for its new ship orders. Indeed, Russia is in a tight spot, with most yards in China, South Korea and Japan fully booked at least up to 2028. Shipyards in Europe cannot take up ship orders from Russia due to sanctions. Thus, India seems to be in the best position to assist.

A team from Rosatom has already visited India to assess suitability of yards. “The NSR is a universal platform for developing multifaceted cooperation in a number of areas, and we see great potential for cooperation with India in various areas, from developing cargo flows to building shipyards,” Rosatom’s public relations manager in South Asia told the Indian Newspaper Economic Times.

Recent data from the Centre for High North Logistic s(CHNL) shows that NSR is seeing record level transit voyages, as trade between China and Russia shifts to the route. As of September 30, NSR recorded 79 transit voyages, translating to an estimated 2.38 million tons of cargo for the Summer-autumn navigation season. So far, around 95 percent of this cargo volume moves from Russia to China.

Russia plans to move around 150 million tons of cargo through NSR by 2030. To support this ambition, Kremlin plans to build 50 ice-breakers and ice-class vessels.