ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA — Russia has unveiled a new nuclear-powered icebreaker that is designed to keep the Northern Sea Route open all year round. <br /> <br />Russia’s new nuclear-powered icebreaker, known as Leader, will exceed 200 meters in length and will be about 50 meters wide. It would be capable of plowing through 2-meter-thick ice at a speed of 29 kph and capable of cutting through ice up to 4.5 meters thick. <br /> <br />It is expected that the new icebreaker would lead tankers carrying liquefied natural gas weighing up to 300,000 tonnes to pass through the Northern Sea Route in any season. <br /> <br />Russia launched the world’s biggest icebreaker, the Arktika, in June. The icebreaker is powered by two nuclear reactors and can break through 4-meter-deep ice.
