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Yamal (icebreaker)
Encyclopedia
The NS Yamal is a Russia
n Arktika class
nuclear powered icebreaker
operated by the Murmansk Shipping Company. It is named after the Yamal Peninsula
in Northwest Siberia
; the name means End of the Land in Nenets.
Laid down in Leningrad
in 1986, and launched in October 1992, after the breakup of the Soviet Union, it never filled its designed role of keeping shipping lanes open. It has always carried passengers on arctic excursions. Yamal took an excursion to the North Pole
to celebrate the Millennium
. Yamal is the 12th surface ship ever to reach the north pole.
The Yamal is equipped with a double hull. The outer hull is 48 mm thick where ice is met and 25 mm elsewhere and has a polymer
coating to reduce friction
. There is water ballast between the inner and outer hulls which can be shifted in order to aid icebreaking. Icebreaking is also assisted by an air bubbling system which can deliver 24 m³/s of air from jets 9 m below the surface. The Yamal can break ice while making way either forwards or backwards.
Yamal is one of the Russian "Arctic" family of icebreakers, the most powerful icebreakers in the world. These ships must cruise in cold water to cool their reactors, so they cannot pass through the tropics to undertake voyages in the Southern hemisphere
.
Yamal carries one helicopter and several Zodiac boats. Radio and satellite communications systems are installed which can provide navigation, telephone, fax, and email services. Amenities include a large dining room (capable of holding all 100 passengers in one sitting), a library, passenger lounge, auditorium, volleyball court, gymnasium, heated indoor swimming pool, a sauna, and an infirmary. She is equipped with 50 passenger cabins and suites, all with toilets, exterior windows, a television, and a desk.
Collision:On March 16th, 2009 Yamal collided with the product tanker MT Indiga
under the command of Captain Jason Tugang and chief engineer Zulfadli in Yenisei Gulf
in the Kara Sea
. While the tanker suffered a 9.5-meter crack on the main deck, no damage was reported for Yamal.
and North Pole-37
:From August to September 2009 the ice breaker took part in the scheduled evacuation of drifting ice stations
. Each station houses 18 polar explorers, dogs, and more than 150 tons of cargo. The evacuation of station personnel and cargo from a drifting ice floe requires three days of continuous, round-the-clock work. This high-latitude Arctic
work was supervised by expedition leader Vladimir Sokolov.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n Arktika class
Arktika class icebreaker
The Arktika class is a Russian class of nuclear powered icebreakers. They are owned by the federal government, but were operated by the Murmansk Shipping Company until 2008, when they were transferred to the fully government-owned operator Atomflot. Of the ten civilian nuclear powered vessels...
nuclear powered icebreaker
Nuclear powered icebreaker
A nuclear powered icebreaker is a purpose-built ship for use in waters continuously covered with ice. Icebreakers are ships capable of cruising on ice-covered water by breaking through the ice with their strong, heavy, steel bows...
operated by the Murmansk Shipping Company. It is named after the Yamal Peninsula
Yamal Peninsula
The Yamal Peninsula , located in Yamal-Nenets autonomous district of northwest Siberia, Russia, extends roughly 700 km and is bordered principally by the Kara Sea, Baydaratskaya Bay on the west, and by the Gulf of Ob on the east...
in Northwest Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
; the name means End of the Land in Nenets.
Laid down in Leningrad
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
in 1986, and launched in October 1992, after the breakup of the Soviet Union, it never filled its designed role of keeping shipping lanes open. It has always carried passengers on arctic excursions. Yamal took an excursion to the North Pole
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface...
to celebrate the Millennium
Millennium
A millennium is a period of time equal to one thousand years —from the Latin phrase , thousand, and , year—often but not necessarily related numerically to a particular dating system....
. Yamal is the 12th surface ship ever to reach the north pole.
The Yamal is equipped with a double hull. The outer hull is 48 mm thick where ice is met and 25 mm elsewhere and has a polymer
Polymer
A polymer is a large molecule composed of repeating structural units. These subunits are typically connected by covalent chemical bonds...
coating to reduce friction
Friction
Friction is the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, and/or material elements sliding against each other. There are several types of friction:...
. There is water ballast between the inner and outer hulls which can be shifted in order to aid icebreaking. Icebreaking is also assisted by an air bubbling system which can deliver 24 m³/s of air from jets 9 m below the surface. The Yamal can break ice while making way either forwards or backwards.
Yamal is one of the Russian "Arctic" family of icebreakers, the most powerful icebreakers in the world. These ships must cruise in cold water to cool their reactors, so they cannot pass through the tropics to undertake voyages in the Southern hemisphere
Southern Hemisphere
The Southern Hemisphere is the part of Earth that lies south of the equator. The word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' or "half sphere"...
.
Yamal carries one helicopter and several Zodiac boats. Radio and satellite communications systems are installed which can provide navigation, telephone, fax, and email services. Amenities include a large dining room (capable of holding all 100 passengers in one sitting), a library, passenger lounge, auditorium, volleyball court, gymnasium, heated indoor swimming pool, a sauna, and an infirmary. She is equipped with 50 passenger cabins and suites, all with toilets, exterior windows, a television, and a desk.
Incidents and accidents
Fire:On 23 December 1996, a crew member was killed when a fire broke out on board the icebreaker. The nuclear reactor powering the ship was not affected by the fire. The crew extinguished the blaze within 30 minutes.Collision:On March 16th, 2009 Yamal collided with the product tanker MT Indiga
MT Indiga
MT Indiga is a Russian product tanker operated by Murmansk Shipping Company. After her modernization in 1994 she became the second merchant ship, after her sister ship Varzuga, to be equipped with an electric azimuth thruster, Azipod....
under the command of Captain Jason Tugang and chief engineer Zulfadli in Yenisei Gulf
Yenisei Gulf
The Yenisei Gulf is a large and long estuary through which the lower Yenisei River flows into the Kara Sea.The Yenisei Gulf is formed by the river widening to an average of 50 km for up to 250 km in a roughly north-south direction, between a latitude of 70° 30' N in the area around...
in the Kara Sea
Kara Sea
The Kara Sea is part of the Arctic Ocean north of Siberia. It is separated from the Barents Sea to the west by the Kara Strait and Novaya Zemlya, and the Laptev Sea to the east by the Severnaya Zemlya....
. While the tanker suffered a 9.5-meter crack on the main deck, no damage was reported for Yamal.
Events
North Pole-36North Pole-36
North Pole-36 was the 36th Russian manned drifting station, primarily used for arctic research from September 2008 until August 2009.- History :...
and North Pole-37
North Pole-37
North Pole-37 is the 37th Russian manned drifting station, primarily used for polar research.The station was established with the nuclear icebreaker NS Yamal in the Arctic ocean at the beginning of September 2009. The chief of high-latitude arctic expeditions Vladimir Sokolov supervises the...
:From August to September 2009 the ice breaker took part in the scheduled evacuation of drifting ice stations
Soviet and Russian manned drifting ice stations
Soviet and Russian manned drifting ice stations are important contributors to exploration of the Arctic. The stations are named North Pole Soviet and Russian manned drifting ice stations are important contributors to exploration of the Arctic. The stations are named North Pole Soviet and...
. Each station houses 18 polar explorers, dogs, and more than 150 tons of cargo. The evacuation of station personnel and cargo from a drifting ice floe requires three days of continuous, round-the-clock work. This high-latitude Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
work was supervised by expedition leader Vladimir Sokolov.