The VI festival of icebreakers was held in Saint Petersburg on May 4-5, 2019. Residents and guests of the city were able to visit the FSUE “Rosmorport” icebreakers – the Kapitan Sorokin, the Saint Petersburg, the Mudyug and the Ivan Kruzenshtern, which have recently completed the period of icebreaker supports in Russian freezing seaports in 2018-2019. The Nevskaya Zastava tug and the Krasin icebreaker museum also took part in the water show. The vessels were moored to the English Embankment and the Lieutenant Schmidt Embankment.

The opening ceremony involved master mariner, leader of the group of masters of the FSUE “Rosmorport” North-Western Basin Branch Georgy Melnik, head of the Committee for Tourism of Saint Petersburg Yevgeny Pankevich, executive secretary of the Maritime Council at the Government of Saint Petersburg, advisor to the Saint Petesburg governor Tatyana Chekalova and other officials.

Over two days, free access has been organized on the icebreakers for everyone. Crewmembers and cadets of the Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Military Education “Admiral Makarov State University of Maritime and Inland Shipping” and Saint Petersburg State Marine Technical University welcomed the visitors. The guests were told about the construction of vessels of this type and the lifestyle of crewmembers aboard. This year one of the veterans of the fleet – the Kapitan Sorokin icebreaker has become the star of the festival. According to the captain of the vessel Dmitry Shcherbakov, the festival is an excellent possibility to speak about the icebreaker fleet and show remarkable equipment of the vessel. “Our work is not always seen by everyone. The residents of the city and the guests won’t see us anywhere else. And for us it’s very pleasant to come to the Neva banks and have a beautiful view on the city,” the captain of the icebreaker said.

The participants in the holiday attended an entertainment program, children’s creative master classes, contests and quizzes devoted to the life at sea, shipbuilding and the Arctic exploration.

A traditional waltz of tugs has become the culmination of the festival. Three tugs waltzed synchronously and gracefully under the melodies of famous waltzes by passing clear of each other and gathering together, and spouting powerful sprays of water. Mouths of fire-fighting systems have been used to create high-pressure sprays.

This year over 110.000 people have visited the event. The festival with the participation of FSUE “Rosmorport” icebreakers has been held since 2014. Today it is very popular among residents of Saint Petersburg. Many people arrive from other cities to look at people working at sea. The priority is to demonstrate the status of Russia as the great maritime power and Saint Petersburg as its great maritime capital. Moreover, it helps get oneself familiar with the history and the specifics of the operation of the country’s icebreaker fleet.