Secret nuclear cargo along coast of Norway

Despite cold political climate, the U.S. and Russia cooperated on a secret September voyage with Highly-enriched uranium from Poland to Murmansk. Norwegian radiation authorities not informed before the vessel sailed into its economical zone.

Head of Vardø Vessel Traffic Service, Ståle Sveinungsen, confirms to BarentsObserver that the vessel “Mikhail Dudin” was carrying a load of highly radioactive material when it sailed along the coast of Norway two weeks ago.

“That is correct. The vessel entered Vardø Traffic Service’s systems on the evening on September 2nd and sailed out again in the afternoon on September 8th,” says Ståle Sveinungsen.

Last position of the vessel, posted on MarineTraffic.com was September 15th, when she was in the waters just outside Atomflot in the Kola Bay.

Russia lays down world’s largest nuclear icebreaker

Construction of the world’s largest and most powerful nuclear-powered icebreaker has begun at the Baltic Shipyard in St. Petersburg.

The yet-unnamed vessel will be powered by two nuclear reactors, and it will be 173 meters long and 34 meters wide – 14 meters longer and 4 meters wider than the current largest icebreaker “50 let Pobedy”.