Russian Nuclear-Powered Cargo Ship Caught Fire in Arctic, No Casualties Reported
Emergency workers in Russia extinguished a fire on a nuclear-powered icebreaker cargo ship on Sunday, December 24.
Knewz.com has learned that the Sevmorput cargo ship, made during the Soviet period, is currently docked at the Arctic northern city of Murmansk in Russia.
Emergency workers in Russia extinguished a fire on the Soviet-era nuclear-powered icebreaker cargo ship Sevmorput. By: KIMO International/Nuclear Free Local Authorities press release
The state company Atomflot, part of the state-owned Rosatom nuclear corporation, is in charge of the operation and maintenance of the Sevmorput icebreaker cargo ship and said in a statement that there were no casualties in the incident and that the nuclear reactor onboard the ship faces no threat from the fire.
The Moscow Times reported that the fire was contained less than an hour after it broke out.
“The fire was quickly liquidated… There were no injuries. There was no threat to crucial support systems or to the reactor plant,” Atomflot said in a statement to the state-run news agency TASS, according to Reuters.
The Sevmorput cargo ship is currently docked at the northern city of Murmansk in Russia. By: Vesseltracker.com
The outlet reported that the fire broke out at one of the cabins of the ship on Sunday and at its peak, it covered an area of about 323 square feet.
None of the reports or statements from the Emergency Ministry of Russia mention the cause of the fire or how close it was to the nuclear reactor of the icebreaker cargo ship.
“An incident was reported on the territory of the berth of the Federal State Unitary Enterprise Atomflot, emergency services rushed to the scene… A fire occurred in one of the cabins on the lighter carrier ‘Sevmorput’ on a preliminary area of 30 sq.m. There is no threat of spread [of fire],” the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia told TASS.
ABC News noted that the 830-foot Sevmorput vessel is the only nuclear cargo ship in service in the whole world, and it’s one of only four nuclear-powered merchant ships ever built.
Sevmorput can pass through ice fields up to 3.3 feet thick at a speed of about two knots due to its design. By: Marinetraffic.com
Launched in 1988, the icebreaking transport ship can pass through ice fields up to 3.3 feet thick at a speed of about two knots due to its design, according to TASS. Reuters reported that the ship underwent an extensive upgrade around a decade ago.
KIMO International, an organization that campaigns for pollution-free oceans, expressed concern at the possible danger posed to the marine environment by Sevmorput in a press release from January 2022.
“Sevmorput has now been operational for over thirty years, and though refitted within the last decade, is showing her age with recent voyages plagued by mechanical breakdowns. Her latest transit of the Northern Sea Route which links North Western Russia to Eastern Siberia ended badly,” KIMO International wrote at the time.
The 830-foot Soviet-era vessel Sevmorput is the only nuclear cargo ship in service in the world. By: Vessel Finder
Citing an incident from 2021, KIMO wrote, “For unexplained reasons, the Sevmorput has remained moored and immobile for almost two months, first at Nakohodka around 85 km [around 53 miles] away from Vladivostok and then from early January anchored in an offshore ‘dry cargo holding area’ about 10 km [around 6 miles] away from the port.”
“ROSATOM has not explained why the Sevmorput was unable to sail to Pevek and has made no statement as to why the Sevmorput has been immobile for so long or about her current condition,” the statement added.