Norilsk Nickel takes over new icebreaking vessel
Russian mining and metallurgy giant Norilsk Nickel in Mid-November takes over its new ice-protected Arctic vessel. The vessel – the company’s third of the kind – will be able to operate along Arctic routes without icebreaker assistance.
With its new fleet of Arctic vessels, the Norilsk Nickel will be able to cut shipping costs with 30 percent and secure independence from the state-owned fleet of nuclear-powered icebreakers.
The new vessel is named “Zapolyarny” and is built by the Wadan Yards in Germany.
The company has engaged in a 320 million EUR contract on the construction of four vessels of the type Aker Arctic CS 650, Murman.ru reports. As BarentsObserver reported, another vessel of the type, the “Monchegorsk”, was handed over to the company in August this year.
Norilsk Nickel is the world’s biggest producer of nickel, as well as a major producer of cupper, platinum and palladium. Major shipping operations are regularly conducted from the port of Dudinka close to the company’s key production areas in the Taymyr peninsula to Murmansk Oblast where processing facilities are located.
