#ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. Many boys dream of becoming pilots, stuntmen, secret agents, and, of course, long-distance captains in their childhood. The captain’s profession is wrapped in a romantic and heroic aura. Not everyone has the ability to command a vessel the size of an eight-story building, navigate the vast Northern Sea Route, overcome polar ice, and deliver crucial cargo from the mainland.
Dmitry Karasev, the mayor of Norilsk, had the honor of being a guest aboard the diesel-electric vessel Monchegorsk and, for a few hours, took on the role of captain of this mighty ship. Captain Sergey Kudryavtsev, who has 41 years of navigation experience, welcomed the mayor and shared his insights. He was the one who led the first crew of Monchegorsk on July 31, 2008, as they set sail along the Northern Sea Route.
Conqueror of ice
The diesel-electric vessel Monchegorsk was built for Nornickel and set sail in 2008. As tall as an eight-story building, it features three living decks, a gym, a swimming pool, a dining room, a galley, and cabins for crew members and guests. It’s a true floating home, a small community sustained by 19 people. This powerful vessel can break through ice over 1.5 meters thick without any extra assistance, literally shattering it into pieces.
The ship is controlled using a single joystick located at both the bow and stern control stations. This joystick manages the azipod – an electric motor located in a gondola beneath the ship’s hull that can rotate 360 degrees in any direction in just one minute, allowing for exceptional maneuverability. This is particularly important when navigating through ice.
“Monchegorsk was specifically designed to handle polar ice. Our ship must break the ice. But, as icebreakers say, the best icebreaker is the wind. We’ll proceed as the wind permits. Here in the Kara sea, we rely on the wind. In October 2010, our diesel-electric vessel made history by completing a voyage from Murmansk to Shanghai along the Northern Sea Route without icebreakers’ support during the late navigation period. The outward journey was manageable, but returning at the end of November was quite challenging”, explained Sergey Kudryavtsev.
It turns out that a vessel’s ice navigation capability depends on factors such as ice thickness and snow cover. The more snow there is on the ice, the more the hull gets coated, requiring more power to forge a path, which negatively impacts speed. Additionally, one must consider ice compression and the formation of ridges. The more ridges (piles of broken ice), the harder it is for the vessel to navigate. The diesel-electric vessel tries to avoid these ridges, reminding us of a line from a Soviet cartoon: “Real heroes always go around”.
“If we see broken ice that is a meter high, then hidden beneath the ice, there could be two to three meters or even more. We navigate around such obstacles. If we see clear water ahead and need to break through half a mile to a mile, we simply chop the ice to reach it. Sometimes we just need to break through and move on”, added Sergey Kudryavtsev.
Meeting of captains
Navigating Monchegorsk is not an easy task. Our group follows the captain in single file, with the senior assistant bringing up the rear to ensure no one gets lost in the ship’s corridors.
To quickly ascend the steep stairs of Monchegorsk, one must have excellent agility and stamina. By the third flight of stairs, breathlessness sets in, but the captain, the first mate, and the mayor ascend with ease. In just a few minutes, the guests find themselves on the captain’s bridge, where Dmitry Karasev steps into the role of Monchegorsk’s captain. With permission from Sergey Kudryavtsev, he takes a seat at the control panel, surrounded by numerous monitors, indicators, buttons, dials, and the joystick that controls the azipod.
“You need to monitor the revolutions, power, and the direction you want to turn. If you’re at the stern and turn left, the stern will go left, but the entire course will shift to the right. Right now, while we’re loading the ship, the stationary diesel generator is running to avoid the main engines’ overworking”, explains captain Sergey Kudryavtsev.
He invites Dmitry Karasev to take control of the ship and try steering it.
“Give it a twist, give it a twist. Now try using the joystick. Here we go, here we go! Go ahead! It’s all under control”, guides Sergey Kudryavtsev.
In the captain’s chair, Dmitry Karasev carefully examines the control panel and, with Sergey Kudryavtsev’s guidance, performs several maneuvers.
“I see that you can monitor the ship’s speed and course here? So it turns out you can analyze the situation both via satellite and through the ship’s tools. It’s certainly challenging to process all this information at once”, added the mayor.
The ship’s true speed is shown by GPS. It is equipped with both GPS and GLONASS devices. The radar station is also located at the control panel, which helps in avoiding other vessels. It displays course, speed, and distance to another ship.
“Every vessel has a stack of certificates, and one of them indicates its ice class, specifying where, in which areas, and under what conditions it can operate. Ours states one word: “unlimited”. We have an ice class of Arc 7. We can sail anywhere on the water, and the areas we can navigate in ice are specified in the certificate. Without this document, we cannot proceed independently on the Northern Sea Route. The operational schedule of Monchegorsk is structured around the production of fine nickel, specifically based on production volume. We approach specific dates indicated in the schedule. You can track our maritime routes on the map”, says Sergey Kudryavtsev.
The captains approach the table where the maps are stored, lay one out, and start discussing the routes of the diesel-electric vessel, going over the details of the journey. In addition to paper maps, they also have electronic ones.
“Nowadays, we hardly use paper maps; they’ve been replaced by electronic ones. As we progress along the route, we monitor the weather every five to six hours. If the forecast is unfavorable, we speed up. In clear water, if there’s no urgency in delivering cargo and no delays in the schedule, we typically operate on one engine. If bad weather approaches, everything unnecessary is cleared from Monchegorsk to ensure that nothing falls, breaks, or injures the crew during pitching”, says Sergey Kudryavtsev.
Lifeboats, fishermen and bears
At the stern, Dmitry Karasev’s attention is drawn to the lifeboat located on the mooring deck. Sergey Kudryavtsev explains that the lifeboat is self-launching. There is only one on the ship, designed for 25 people, while the crew of Monchegorsk consists of 19 specialists. The lifeboat is equipped with seats that secure the occupant crosswise for safety. The lifeboat undergoes regular checks in case of emergencies, which, thankfully, have not occurred.
The mayor asks the captain about the fishermen met by the diesel-electric vessel on its route. Ice fishing enthusiasts pose serious problems for the ship and themselves. This usually occurs in the spring. Fishermen can be spotted with binoculars, but attempts to drive them away from their ice holes often lead to nothing.
“Fishermen are a real headache. It can lead to calling the police or port authorities to disperse them. Binoculars only help if visibility is good; otherwise, you can see more with the naked eye. It feels like the people have several lives in reserve. Bears also appear along the route. Their instinct for self-preservation is better developed than that of humans. Realizing that a massive machine is approaching, they tend to retreat. On one of our voyages, we witnessed a struggle between a polar bear and a walrus”, added captain Sergey Kudryavtsev.
“I had a unique opportunity to be on the diesel-electric vessel Monchegorsk. This is my first time on a ship of this type. As captain, you bear responsibility not only for the vessel and the cargo it transports along the Northern Sea Route, ensuring timely deliveries of valuable raw materials, but also for the crew – the people around you. To operate a diesel-electric vessel, one needs a very good education, extensive experience in managing such ships, unique skills, and the ability to read natural cues, considering the movement of ice and seas through which you navigate. Decisions here must be made not from textbooks, but based on your own vision of how to get from point A to point B with this vessel. The experience I gained here is priceless.
My dream of becoming a captain has come true. But I’ve become the captain of a city instead of a ship ”, said Dmitry Karasev.
Amazing facts and numbers
Monchegorsk is operated by two crews of 19 people each, who alternate shifts.
The ship is 169 meters long, equivalent to two standard football fields, each 90 meters long. Its width is 23.1 meters, the height of the side is 14.2 meters, and the maximum draft is 10 meters.
The displacement is 29 100 tons, with a power of 31 000 horsepower. The speed is provided by three main engines, each with 8 000 horsepower.
The azipod drives the ship’s 60-ton propeller, which is 5.6 meters in size.
Monchegorsk can carry a maximum of 722 containers. The total cargo capacity, including fuel reserves, is about 17 000 tons.
Sailors have a superstition – not to step on the ship’s threshold; it must be stepped over. Also, one should not sit on the bitts (metal posts on the deck of the ship where mooring lines are secured).
On Monchegorsk, Dmitry Karasev was surprised to find that absolutely all items and objects on the ship are meticulously secured.
He was also struck by the abundance of indoor plants. It turned out that nature exists not only outside the deck but also on it, in the spirits of those who sail on this ship.
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Text: Natalia Cherkashina, Photos: Nikolay Shchipko
