On April 28, 2017 the new diesel-electric icebreaker Novorossiysk has started its ice trials in the Kara Sea.

The ship sailed from the seaport of Murmansk to the Western Arctic sector in order to verify its compliance with specification requirements.  Without a single stop the icebreaker moving at the speed of 2 knots will have to overcome a solid 1 meter thick ice field and also perform icebreaking operations in the ice that is up to 1.5 m. thick.

In accordance with the ship's ice trials program the speed of its movement, the speed of the propellers, the power generator capacity and the thickness of the ice to be overcome are all going to be measured in order to determine the ice propulsion capabilities of the vessel. 

The diesel-electric icebreaker Novorossiysk was added to the Fleet of FSUE “Rosmorport" in late December 2016. It is one of the three modern linear diesel-electric icebreakers built under the Federal Target Program for "Development of the Russian Transport system (2010-2020)".

The vessel is designed with the most advanced technology and is able to overcome ice with thickness of up to 1.5 m. The icebreaker is designed to open pathways for large cargo vessels, conduct towing operations, assist vessels in distress, and transport goods.

The Novorossiysk has already been able to prove that it is a highly reliable and modern vessel. In February 2017, through the successful operation of the icebreaker over 160 tons of cargo have been delivered to the islands of the Franz Joseph Land archipelago, and in less than a month of work in the White Sea, the Novorossiysk opened the routes for more than fifty vessels.