50 Let Pobedy

History
Russia
Name	50 Let Pobedy (50 лет Победы)
Namesake	50th anniversary of the end of the Great Patriotic War
Owner	Russian Federation
Operator	FSUE Atomflot
Port of registry	Murmansk,   Russia [1]
Builder	Baltic Shipyard
Yard number	705
Laid down	4 October 1989
Launched	29 December 1993
Commissioned	23 March 2007 [2]
Maiden voyage	2007
Identification	IMO number:  9152959 Call sign: UGYU
Status	In active service
General characteristics [3]
Class and type	Arktika-class icebreaker
Tonnage	23,439  GT 3,505  DWT
Displacement	25,168 tons
Length	159.6 m (524 ft)
Beam	30 m (98 ft)
Draught	11 m (36 ft)
Depth	17.2 m (56 ft)
Installed power	Two OK-900A nuclear reactors (2 × 171 MW) Two steam turbogenerators (2 × 27.6 MW)
Propulsion	Nuclear-turbo-electric Three shafts (3 × 18 MW)
Speed	18.6 knots (34.4 km/h; 21.4 mph) (maximum)
Endurance	7.5 months
Crew	189
Aircraft carried	1 × Mi-2, Mi-8 or Ka-27 helicopter
Aviation facilities	Helipad and hangar for one helicopter

50 Let Pobedy on a Russian stamp

50 Let Pobedy (Russian : 50 лет Победы; "50 Years of Victory", referring to the anniversary of victory of the Soviet Union in World War II) is a Russian Arktika-class nuclear-powered icebreaker. The ship was laid down in the Soviet Union in 1989, and construction was halted by the Russian government in 1994 following the devolution of the Soviet Union. Construction was restarted in 2003 and completed in 2007.

History

Construction on project no. 10521 started on 4 October 1989, at the Baltic Works in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg), USSR. Originally the ship was named Ural. Work was halted in 1994 for lack of funds, so that the actual fiftieth anniversary of Victory Day in 1995, after which she was named, found the ship in an abandoned state. Construction was restarted in 2003.

On 30 November 2004, a fire broke out on the ship. All workers aboard the vessel had to be evacuated while the fire crews battled the fire for some 20 hours before getting it under control; one worker was sent to the hospital.^{[ citation needed ]}

She was finally completed in the beginning of 2007, after the 60th Anniversary. The icebreaker sailed into the Gulf of Finland for two weeks of sea trials on 1 February 2007. Upon completing sea trials, the icebreaker returned to St. Petersburg Baltic shipyard and started preparations for her maiden voyage to Murmansk. The new ship showed superior characteristics for an icebreaker, such as exceptional manoeuverability^{[ dubious – discuss ]} and a top speed of 21.4 knots (39.6 km/h; 24.6 mph).^{[ citation needed ]}

She arrived at her homeport Murmansk on 11 April 2007.

The icebreaker is an upgrade of the Arktika class. The 159.60 m (524 ft) long and 30.0 m (98 ft) wide vessel, with a displacement of 25,840 metric tons, is designed to break through ice up to 2.5 metres (8.2 ft) thick. She operates with a crew of 140. ^{[1] [4] [5] [6] [7]}

50 Let Pobedy is also an experimental project; for the first time in the history of Russian icebreakers the design incorporated a spoon-shaped bow. As predicted by the ship's designers, such a shape increases the efficiency of the ship's efforts in breaking ice. The icebreaker was equipped in 2007 with an new digital automated control system.^{[ citation needed ]} The biological shielding complex^{[ clarification needed ]} was heavily modernized and re-certified by the State Commission. A new ecological compartment was created.

The ship has an athletic/exercise facility, a swimming pool, a library, a restaurant, a massage facility, and a music salon at the crew's disposal.^{[ citation needed ]}

On 26 January 2025, 50 Let Pobedy collided with the dry bulk cargo ship Yamal Krechet while transiting the Kara Sea. ^[8] The collision resulted in damage to the port side edge plating in a section of the bow of the ship. However, the damage did not affect the operational capability of the ship, nor compromise the security of the ships nuclear reactor.^{[ citation needed ]} No crew were injured.

Arctic tourism

Since 1989 the nuclear-powered icebreakers have also been used for tourist purposes carrying passengers to the North Pole. Each participant pays up to US$45,000 for a cruise lasting two weeks. ^[9] The Fiftieth Anniversary of Victory contains an accommodation deck customised for tourists.

Quark Expeditions chartered 50 Let Pobedy (which they refer to as 50 Years of Victory) for expeditions to the North Pole in 2008. The ship carried 128 guests in 64 cabins in five categories.^{[ citation needed ]}

As of February 2013, Quark Expeditions as well as international polar cruise company Poseidon Expeditions were both offering North Pole cruises on 50 Let Pobedy. ^{[10] [11]} On 30 July 2013 50 Let Pobedy reached the North Pole for the 100th time in the history of icebreaker navigation during one of Poseidon Expeditions cruises. ^[12]

In October 2013, the vessel carried the Olympic Flame to the North Pole, in the runup to the 2014 Winter Olympics ^[13]

In August 2017, the vessel set a new record for transit time to the North Pole, making the journey from Murmansk to the Pole in 79 hours, arriving at 02:33 AM on 17 August 2017.^{[ citation needed ]}

References

1. "Russian Registry of Ships". Archived from the original on 5 September 2010. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
2. "Атомный ледокол "50 лет ПОБЕДЫ"". polarpost.ru. Archived from the original on 24 July 2017. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
3. "Atomic Icebreakers Technical Data". rosatomflot.ru. Archived from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
4. Anastasia Yakonuk (26 February 2007). "A ship called 'Fifty years after the victory'". Sveriges Radio. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 8 March 2007.
5. "Titans of the Upper Latitudes". Aeroflot in-flight magazine. 2006. Archived from the original on 21 June 2006. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
6. "Russia to get new nuclear-powered icebreaker this year". Bellona.org. 1 March 2006. Archived from the original on 8 November 2019. Retrieved 2 February 2007.
7. "Quark Expeditions fleet information". Quark Expeditions. 17 March 2008. Archived from the original on 18 June 2008. Retrieved 25 June 2008.
8. "Russian nuclear-powered icebreaker sustained plating damage in Kara Sea". TASS. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
9. "ARC-NTH-14D2018: 2018-06-13". www.quarkexpeditions.com. Archived from the original on 8 July 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
10. "North Pole". Quark Expeditions. Archived from the original on 24 December 2010. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
11. "I/b 50 Years of Victory". Poseidon Expeditions. Archived from the original on 22 March 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
12. "100th achievement of the North Pole". Poseidon Expeditions. 31 July 2013. Archived from the original on 11 November 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
13. "Den olympiske ild kom forbi Nordpolen". Maritime Denmark (in Danish). 27 October 2013. Archived from the original on 1 November 2013. Retrieved 29 October 2013.

External links

• 50 Years of Victory Ship Details from Quark Expeditions with detailed deck plans
• Page dedicated to 50 Years of Victory on a website of Poseidon Expeditions containing numerous photos, description, deckplan and panoramas of cabins.
• Video Of The Voyage To The North Pole on YouTube
• 75 000 h.p. The Biggest Nuclear Icebreaker \\ 75 000 л.с. Атомный Ледокол Ямал on YouTube
• "So malerisch ist der Nordpol". Die Welt (in German). Hamburg. 14 August 2010. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
• Current location on satellite tracking website vesselfinder.com.
• Video of 50 Let Pebedy escorting LNG carrier Christophe de Margerie from China to the north Russian port of Sabetta on the Northern Sea Route. Sovcomflot video via The Siberian Times , 17 February 2021.