Civilian-Use Naval Reactors Archived Developments
Floating Reactors
Icebreakers Murmansk Shipping Company Icebreaker Table
Service Ships Table
For more recent developments, see the General Naval Developments file.

In addition to its fleet of nuclear submarines, Russia operates a number of civilian-use naval nuclear reactors. The bulk of these reactors are in the half-dozen Russian nuclear-powered icebreakers based on the Kola Peninsula.  A smaller number of scientific and space-tracking vessels also carry nuclear reactors, although these vessels also conducted military missions, at least during the Soviet period.  Many of the latter ships lack funds for continued operations and are likely to be scrapped.

In the past decade, Russia has at times used active-duty military vessels, such as nuclear-powered submarines, to provide heat and electricity to Russian coastal cities.[1] The Russian Federal Atomic Energy Agency has also been working on a more permanent solution to local energy crises:  the construction of floating nuclear power plants.  These power plants would consist of specially designed reactors mounted on barges for the express purpose of providing electricity and heat to remote communities. As of March 2007, plans called for initiating construction of a pilot floating nuclear plant in 2007.  [For more information on floating reactor plans, see the Russia: Floating Reactors file.]
Sources:
[1] Georgiy Kostev, Nuclear Safety Challenges in the Operation and Dismantlement of Russian Nuclear Submarines, Committee for Critical Technologies and Non-Proliferation, Moscow 1997, p. 65. {Entered 4/17/98 jcm}  {Updated 3/12/07 CC}

 

Page last updated 12 March 2007
For more recent developments, see the General Naval Developments file.
For archived developments see the Archived Civilian Naval Reactor Developments file.

Comments or questions? E-mail Cristina Chuen:  cristina.chuenATmiis.edu.

This material is produced independently for NTI by the Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of and has not been independently verified by NTI or its directors, officers, employees, agents. Copyright © 2003 by MIIS.

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