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Fire Breaks Out on Soviet-Era Icebreaker Undergoing Repairs

fire on icebreaker at shipyard
Fire burnt for approximately four hours and covered 80-square-keets of the icebreaker (Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations)

Published Sep 6, 2026 5:10 PM by The Maritime Executive

A fire broke out on September 5 aboard a Soviet-era diesel-powered icebreaker while it was docked in St. Petersburg, Russia, undergoing an overhaul and repairs. The icebreaker Admiral Makarov was slated to be deployed in the eastern Gulf of Finland to assist Russian navigation.

The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations said it dispatched fire crews to the pier in St. Petersburg where the icebreaker was being serviced by the Kronstadt Marine Shipyard. The reports are referencing it as a “major fire” that appears to have started in the steering gear area. It spread to an 80-square-meter area of the ship.

Ten units and 52 personnel were involved in fighting the fire. It took about two hours to contain the fire and another two hours before it was completely extinguished. The ministry did not detail how much damage the icebreaker sustained, but said there were no injuries during the fire.

 

 

The icebreaker was built in 1975 in the then Helsinki shipyard of Wärtsilä and entered service in June of that year. Rosmorport, which now manages the vessel, said it had undergone an overhaul, including a painting of its hull and repairs to its propellers, in May 2025. Stories indicated it had been in the shipyard since February 2025 and was still undergoing repairs to its main engines that were scheduled to be completed by the end of 2026.

The Admiral Makarov is 135 meters (443 feet) in length and displaces about 20,000 tons. It is capable of handling ice up to 1.5 meters (nearly 5 feet) at speeds of up to 2 knots. It was also designed with a capacity of 100 tons of cargo and up to 12 passengers.

Rosmorport said the ship was built for autonomous operations lasting up to three months, with a sufficient fuel supply onboard. It has a crew of 58, and for their comfort, it features a sauna, swimming pool, and gym to accommodate the crew during long deployments.

The vessel was operating in the Arctic Basin before it went into the shipyard in 2025. It was transferred to the North-Western Basin Branch pending deployment in the Gulf of Finland.