Shipyard Baltiysky Zavod has announced that Russia's newest nuclear icebreaker Arktika will begin sea trials on December 12.

Sea trials will be conducted in the Gulf of Finland and will test the icebreaker’s propulsion system, communication and navigation equipment, and deck installations. Commissioning is expected for April 2020 at which point Rosatomflot, the country’s operator of all nuclear icebreakers, will take possession.

The renewal of Russia’s aging icebreaker fleet is integral to the country’s goal to further expand shipping activity along the Northern Sea Route. 

Maritime Business World