Krasin (1976 icebreaker)

Russian (formerly Soviet) icebreaker

For another ship of the same name, see Krasin (1916 icebreaker). For the Polish village, see Krasin, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship.

NSF picture of Russian icebreaker Krasin on its way to McMurdo Sound, Antarctica

History
Russia
Name| Krasin
Namesake| Leonid Borisovich Krasin
Owner| Far East Shipping Company (FESCO)[1][2]
Port of registry| Vladivostok,  Russia[3]
Builder| Wärtsilä Helsinki Shipyard, Helsinki, Finland
Yard number| 400[3]
Completed| 28 April 1976[3]
Identification|

* Call sign: UIFY[3]
* IMO number: 7359644[3]
* MMSI number: 273143900[1]

Status| In service
General characteristics [3]
Type| Icebreaker
Tonnage|

* 14,508 GT
* 4,217 NT
* 7,554 DWT

Displacement| 20,247 tons
Length| 134.84 m (442.4 ft) (overall)
Beam|

* 25.97 m (85.2 ft) (moulded)
* 26.05 m (85.5 ft) (max)

Height| 45.60 m (149.6 ft) from keel[2]
Draft| 11.00 m (36.09 ft)
Depth| 16.71 m (54.8 ft)
Ice class| LL2
Installed power| 9 × Wärtsilä-Sulzer 12ZH40/48 (9 × 3,385 kW)
Propulsion|

* 3 × Strömberg DC motors (3 × 8,820 kW)
* Three fixed pitch propellers

Speed|

* 20.30 knots (37.60 km/h; 23.36 mph) (max)
* 19.8 knots (36.7 km/h; 22.8 mph) (service)[2]
* 2 knots (3.7 km/h; 2.3 mph) in 1.8 m (5.9 ft) level ice[4]

Aviation facilities| Helipad and hangar[2]

The Krasin (Russian: Красин) is a Russian (formerly Soviet) icebreaker. The vessel operates in polar regions.

## History

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The ship was built at the Wärtsilä Helsinki Shipyard in Helsinki, Finland in 1976.[2] Named after an early Bolshevik leader and Soviet diplomat Leonid Krasin and an earlier icebreaker of the same name.

## Design

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The second Krasin is a triple-screw diesel-powered icebreaker owned by the Far East Shipping Company (FESCO) and is based in Vladivostok. The hull has a friction-reducing coating.[5]

Krasin can break ice 6 feet (2 m) thick.[6]

## Service

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During the 2004–2005 season (Operation Deep Freeze 2005), the United States Antarctic Program hired the Krasin as a secondary vessel to help clear a channel to McMurdo Station[7] because the Coast Guard icebreaker Polar Star faced a record cut through fast ice of more than 90 miles (140 km). The Krasin departed Vladivostok on December 21, 2004, and arrived at the Ross Sea ice edge one month later.[6][8]

The Krasin departed the Ross Sea on 9 February, reaching Vladivostok on March 5, 2005. She is unlikely to return to the Antarctic as FESCO have signed a multi-year contract for Krasin to support oil rig operations in the Sea of Okhotsk from March 2005 onwards.[6] Along with her sister ship Admiral Makarov, Krasin has been providing winter escort to large capacity tankers from the port of De-Kastri (Khabarovsk) as part of the Sakhalin-I project.[9] During the summer months she provides escort on the Northern Sea Route to the Eastern sector of Arctic servicing sea terminals of North Chukotka.[10]

In September 2022, it was announced that Krasin's 1974-built sister ship Ermak would be dismantled for parts to keep the 1976-built icebreaker in service.[11]

## References

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1. ^ a b "Krasin (7359644)". Equasis. Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy. Retrieved 2011-10-13.
2. ^ a b c d e "FESCO vessels: Krasin". Fesco Transport Group. Archived from the original on 2008-01-04. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
3. ^ a b c d e f "Krasin (740150)". Register of ships. Russian Maritime Register of Shipping. Retrieved 2012-10-28.
4. ^ The world icebreaker, ice breaking supply and research vessel fleet Archived October 29, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. Baltic Ice Management, February 2011. Retrieved 2011-10-07.
5. ^ "Ship Resupply 2005/2006" (PDF). U.S. Antarctic Program. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
6. ^ a b c "Krasin". Antarctic Philately. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
7. ^ "Russian Ice-Breaker Krasin Heading for Antarctic to Rescue U.S. Polar Station McMurdo". Russian Embassy Press Release. 2004-12-21. Archived from the original on 2005-02-17. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
8. ^ "U.S., Russian icebreakers open path to Antarctic base". USA Today. February 6, 2005. Retrieved 2008-01-09.
9. ^ "Ice Breakers left Vladivostok for Sakhalin Coast". Vladivostok Times. December 24, 2006. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
10. ^ "Icebreaker the Krasin pursued to East Arctic". FESCO. Archived from the original on 2011-10-02. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
11. ^ "Ледокол "Ермак" разберут на запчасти для ремонта "Красина"" [Icebreaker "Ermak" will be dismantled for spare parts for the repair of "Krasin"] (in Russian). RBC. 20 September 2022. Retrieved 21 September 2022.

## External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Krasin (ship, 1976).

* Account of Krasin's expedition to McMurdo Sound.