Russia seeks to raise funds to build two new icebreakers
The Russian government is seeking to tap alternative sources of additional income for the construction of two nuclear icebreaker.
The news was reported by Kommersant, citing a letter from Rosatom’s special representative for Arctic affairs, Vladimir Panov. Initially, 50% of the cost of each vessel was to be financed from the budget, with the rest covered by Rosatom.
Two options for raising funds for the ships — to be called Leningrad and Stalingrad — are currently being discussed.
The first option under consideration is the introduction of a fee on each tonne transported along the Northern Sea Route, starting in 2027, when it would amount to $1.5. It would then gradually increase, reaching a peak of $2.75 in 2030 and 2031, before declining to 40 cents in 2035.
In 2025, cargo traffic along the Northern Sea Route amounted to 37.02 million tonnes. Applying the 2027 rate to this volume would generate $55.5 million per year, or RUB 4.1 billion at the current exchange rate. That is less than 5% of the cost of building a Project 22220 nuclear icebreaker.
The second option is to introduce a port fee at all Russian seaports for vessels carrying export cargo. The preliminary estimate of the fee is 20 cents per tonne. The document does not specify for how many years it is proposed to introduce it.
According to the Association of Commercial Sea Ports, 696.6 million tonnes of cargo were exported through seaports in 2025, which would generate $139.3 million in fee revenue, or RUB 10.3 billion. To collect the same amount as under the first option, with exports remaining static, the fee would need to be introduced for 13 years.
Under the government order of December 15, 2022, the combined cost of Leningrad and Stalingrad was almost RUB 118 billion, while the multifunctional nuclear technology service vessel was estimated at RUB 24.8 billion. According to a Kommersant source familiar with the situation, each icebreaker is now estimated to cost around RUB 85 billion.
Both nuclear icebreakers are being built under Project 22220 and are expected to be commissioned in 2028 and 2030, respectively. Construction of Leningrad is reportedly ahead of schedule. As of May 2026, it was 31.45% complete against a planned 30.05%. On May 14, control assembly of its first RITM-200 reactor unit was completed.
Four Project 22220 icebreakers are currently in operation. The first of them, Arktika, was commissioned in 2020, and the latest, Yakutia, in March 2025. The commissioning date for another icebreaker under construction has been put back from late 2026 to 2027.
Commentary by Bellona
The report confirms that current icebreaker escort tariffs are set below cost. This may also indicate that the prices under individual contracts between Novatek and other major Arctic companies, on the one hand, and Atomflot, which operates the nuclear icebreaker fleet, on the other, are likewise below market levels. Under relatively free market conditions, shipping via the Northern Sea Route is unlikely to be commercially viable.
Bellona publishes a monthly Arctic digest, where it monitors events that impact the environment in the Russian Arctic. Its focus lies on identifying the factors that contribute to pollution and climate change. Please consider subscribing to the organization’s Arctic digest.
