Icebreaking Services

     In 2008 and 2009 the Kapitan Dranitsyn icebreaker chartered by the University of Alaska (the U.S.A.) provided the work of a scientific expedition in the Barents Sea and the Kara Sea, the Laptev Sea and the Norwegian Sea. At that period the Kapitan Dranitsyn icebreaker was also chartered by the Government of Argentina to escort the Vasily Golovnin vessel for supplies of the Belgrano II Base. Crew members of the icebreaker received gratitude from the Government of Argentina for the good quality job they had done.

     In 2010-2011 the Kapitan Dranitsyn chartered by the Government of the Argentine Republic escorted the Vasily Golovnin vessel for supplies of the Belgrano II Base. At that time the Kapitan Dranitsyn icebreraker supported the winter navigation in the seaports of the White Sea, provided support for tankers in the Gulf of Ob for the needs of OJSC “NK Rosneft” and vessels in the Yenisei Bay for the benefit of OJSC “GMK Norilsk Nickel”. Chartered by the Association of Russian Polar Explorers the icebreaker delivered passengers to the Frantz Joseph Land Archipelago.

     In 2012 the Kapitan Dranitsyn icebreaker provided the work of the Federal State Unitary Research and Production Enterprise for Marine Exploration “Sevmorgeo” scientific expedition to explore the Artic shelf (Alpha Ridge) in the central part of the Arctic Ocean.

     In 2013 the Kapitan Dranitsyn icebreaker provided the work of the Federal State Budgetary Institution “AANII” to study dangerous ice facilities in the Kara Sea.

     In 2014 the Kapitan Dranitsyn icebreaker chartered by the Government of Argentina provided support for the Vasily Golovnin vessel for supplies of the Belgrano II Base.

     In 2015 by order of PJSC “Sovfrakht” the Kapitan Dranitsyn icebreaker provided icebreaker support for cargo and passenger vessels delivering cargoes and carrying passengers on Alexander Island of the Frantz Joseph Land Archipelago. In August 2015 for the benefit of the Nonprofit Institution “The Polar Exploration Fund ‘Polar Fund’” the Kapitan Dranitsyn icebreaker removed polar explorers from the drifting ice station (the ice) with scientific equipment and the housing compound of the research station.

     In 2016 the Kapitan Dranitsyn icebreaker chartered by the Federal State Budgetary Institution “AANII” was used in the Kara Sea for transport and icebreaker support of  the work of the expedition group of the Arctic and Antarctic research institute. In the same year by order of PJSC “Sovfrakht” the icebreaker provided icebreaker support for cargo and passenger vessels delivering cargoes and carrying passengers to Alexander Island of the Frantz Joseph Land Archipelago.

     In 2017 the Kapitan Dranitsyn icebreaker chartered by LLC “InterOilTrading” was used to provide support for transport vessels to the seaport of Pevek.

     In 2019, the Kapitan Dranitsyn icebreaker provided icebreaker support for cargo and passenger vessels delivering cargoes and carrying passengers to the islands of Frantz Joseph Land Archipelago. In addition, the icebreaker took part in the delivery of shift crews, provisions and fuel to the drift site, above 86 degrees north latitude, of the German research vessel Polarshtern, the base for the international expedition MOSAiC, which is engaged in the study of climate change, flora and fauna in the Arctic.

     In 2020, the icebreaker Kapitan Dranitsyn ensured the delivery of personnel, provisions, fuel and scientific equipment to the drift site of the German research vessel Polarstern, which is the base for the MOSAiC international expedition. The icebreaker managed to set up a record for vessel's duration of stay at latitude 84⁰36'N during the winter period in difficult ice conditions. In the same period, a unique operation was carried out to bunker the icebreaker Kapitan Dranitsyn at latitude 84⁰46'N involving another icebreaker of the Murmansk Branch of FSUE “Rosmorport”, the icebreaker Admiral Makarov, who delivered fuel to the bunker site. As a result, there was broken the record of more than 80 years ago recorded in the USSR when in 1939 the icebreaker Yermak transferred the necessary supply of coal fuel for the Sedov, Malygin and Sadko vessels at the following coordinates: Latitude = 83⁰04'N; Longitude = 66⁰31'E. In the second half of 2020, the icebreaker Kapitan Dranitsyn successfully managed to complete a trip to Antarctica from the seaport of Murmansk and back in order to deliver personnel to the Russian polar station Progress.

     In 2021, the Krasin icebreaker provided icebreaking assistance services in the waters of the Barents and Pechora Seas for vessels which ensure the operation of the Prirazlomnaya offshore ice-resistant stationary platform. In mid-December 2021, the Kapitan Dranitsyn icebreaker, together with the Arktika nuclear-powered icebreaker, carried out long-range icebreaking assistance for three vessels from the western ice edge of the Kara Sea to the seaport of Pevek in difficult ice conditions.

     In 2022, the Kapitan Dranitsyn icebreaker, in difficult ice conditions, provided icebreaking assistance services to ships with general cargo, prepared, pierced and widened the channel for their approach to the berth in the area of Sever Bay in the Yenisei Bay in the west of the Taimyr Peninsula, where the construction of an offshore oil terminal is underway.