Video: Russian Nuclear Icebreaker Collides With Cargo Ship In Kara Sea

The Russian nuclear-powered icebreaker 50 Let Pobedy (50 Years of Victory) sustained major hull damage after it collided with a cargo ship in the Kara Sea on January 26, 2025.

The vessel was maintaining winter shipping lanes and escorting a cargo ship along the Northern Sea Route. It sustained a large gash on its port bow. Despite the damage, authorities confirmed that the icebreaker is still seaworthy and continues its operations.

A video circulating on Russian social media shows 50 Let Pobedy manoeuvring in close quarters when its port bow struck the freighter’s port side near the base of a cargo crane.

The pro-Kremlin Telegram channel Mash published footage showing the icebreaker sailing straight into the cargo ship.

Per reports, the cargo vessel involved in the collision is the 20,144 deadweight tonnage (dwt) dry bulk carrier Yamal Krechet, which was en route to Ob Ray. AIS tracking data also shows that this was the likely vessel involved.

Video Credits: Константин Катышев/YouTube

State atomic agency Atomflot stated that “seaworthiness had not been lost” and that “there is no threat to the life support systems or the reactor installation.”

The agency confirmed that despite the damage 50 Let Pobedy is operating in normal mode along the Northern Sea Route. The icebreaker’s nuclear reactor, located at the rear of the vessel, was not affected by the impact.

The press service of Atomflot told Russian news agency TASS that 50 Let Pobedy sustained damage to its port-side edge plating while operating in harsh Arctic conditions and performing ice-cutting operations.

The company confirmed that “nobody was injured” and that the vessel remains fully operational.

It is however unclear whether the icebreaker will complete its current mission or return early to Murmansk for repairs.

50 Let Pobedy is one of six first-generation Arktika-class nuclear icebreakers designed in the late Soviet era. In Russian, the name 50 Let Pobedy means the 50 Years of Victory, celebrating the anniversary of the end of World War II.

The construction of the vessel began in 1989 at the Baltic Shipyard in St. Petersburg but remained incomplete for over a decade due to the Soviet Union’s collapse. The work resumed in 2003 and took another four years.

It was finally commissioned in 2007. Before the introduction of the new Artika-class icebreakers in 2020, 50 Let Pobedy was the world’s largest nuclear icebreaker.

Russian media report that a Russian icebreaker 50 Years of Victory has collided with a dry cargo ship in the Kara Sea on January 26.

The icebreaker suffered damage to the left side hull, Russian media reported but promised everything was fine. See damage on second image.

With… https://t.co/uxnRqXrxk1 pic.twitter.com/XL0DnHcsI4

— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) January 28, 2025

In 2017, the nuclear icebreaker Vaygach collided with the handymax bulk carrier Nordic Barents in the Kara Sea. Both ships continued their journey.

Another incident involved the collision of two fully loaded Russian tankers, Indiga and Varzuga, in medium ice conditions and poor visibility in 2010. Neither ship lost seaworthiness, and no oil spills were reported due to their heavy ice classification (1A Super) and double-hull structure.

Reports reveal that Russia has increasingly allowed non-ice class oil tankers and cargo ships to transit the Northern Sea Route, often violating the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) Polar Code and Russia’s own Arctic Shipping regulations.

Rosatomflot, Russia’s state-owned operator of nuclear icebreakers, has not given any information on what caused the navigation error that led to the collision of 50 Let Pobedy with Yamal Krechet.

The cargo ship Yamal Krechet operated by Sevnor Management of Russia was travelling from Arkhangelsk to Sabetta, the port where Novatek’s Yamal LNG production facilities are located. There are no reports of damage or casualties to the vessel.

Visuals taken from the collision show multiple containers on the deck of Yamal Krechet, but the contents of the cargo are unknown.

Reference: TASS