Russia’s Rosmorport has canceled a $230M contract for two Arctic icebreakers, citing sanctions that cut access to vital foreign parts and subcontractors.
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| Russian icebreaker Vladimir Ignatyuk (Photo by Deb Wilfong via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 4.0. / This image is for illustrative purposes only and is not directly related to the article.) |
Rosmorport has canceled a high-profile contract with the Onega Shipbuilding Plant for the construction of two Icebreaker 7–class ships, originally signed in 2021 and worth about $230 million. The decision, announced on July 10, reflects how international sanctions have crippled Russia’s ability to source advanced technology and subcontract critical work abroad.
The planned vessels, designed to be 95 meters long with dual-fuel propulsion systems generating 12–14 MW, were intended to operate in the Baltic, White, Barents and Arctic seas year-round. Delivery was first scheduled for 2024 in St. Petersburg, later pushed to 2026, but the project never left the drawing board. Rosmorport has now demanded the return of its advance payment, estimated between $115 and $120 million, within five business days.
Sanctions blocked access to essential foreign-supplied components, including ABB’s Azipod propulsion units and Wärtsilä generators, while also preventing Russia from outsourcing parts of the construction to Turkish shipyards. As a result, the ambitious program collapsed before construction could begin. The cancellation is part of a wider trend: United Shipbuilding Corporation’s facilities have already started cutting jobs as Western restrictions and funding shortages put mounting pressure on the Russian shipbuilding sector, raising doubts over its capacity to maintain Arctic and commercial fleet development.
Sources: UNITED24 Media, The Moscow Times