Nuclear-Powered Icebreakers: How They Work and What They Are Used For

They plough through the frozen waters of seas, rivers and lakes and break the ice crust thanks to the power supplied by small nuclear reactors called SMRs: we are talking about nuclear-powered icebreakers, a special type of icebreaker with greater autonomy than traditional ones. Russia is the only country that has these extraordinary vessels capable of navigating the Arctic Ocean. According to 2022 data, the Russian fleet currently includes 6 nuclear-powered icebreakers: the Arktika, the Sibir, the Yamal, the 50 Let Pobedy, the Taymyr and the Vaygach. But what exactly are they for? And how do they work? In this video we analyze the functioning of nuclear-powered icebreakers, the snowploughs of the seas.


00:00 Nuclear-powered icebreakers: how the ships that break the ice in the Arctic Ocean work
00:35 The difference between a normal ship and an icebreaker: the hull that breaks the ice
02:31 Icebreakers are used to clear the way for other vessels
03:33 Icebreakers recover ships stuck in the ice and carry out scientific expeditions
04:00 Russian nuclear-powered icebreakers
04:40 The engines of Russia's icebreakers: how the small modular reactor (SMR) works
05:30 The environmental impact of nuclear icebreakers

#engineering #geopop #icebreakers