Russian Icebreaker Viktor Chernomyrdin, the largest diesel-electric icebreaker ever built by a Russian shipyard
Russia has chosen India over China for its non-nuclear icebreaker construction program. This decision comes as Russia seeks to develop its Northern Sea Route (NSR) and navigate the challenges posed by Western sanctions…In a significant move towards strengthening maritime cooperation, the Indian government is in talks with two shipbuilders—one state-owned and the other private—to construct four non-nuclear icebreaker ships valued at over Rs 6,000 crores ($750 million).
Does this really signify a preference for India over China? Not really, “…shipyards in China, South Korea, and Japan are fully booked until at least 2028.” India is probably eager for the business. Relations between Russia and India have been good for decades. While India has moved closer to the US in response to Chinese aggressiveness, India has maintained ties with Russia.
India has been developing their ship building industry, and logically they have the cheap labor that could make them very competitive, but they still lag far behind China, S. Korea, and Japan. That Russia is not building these ships in Russia is an indication of the weakness of their own shipbuilding industry.
I don’t think India has ever built an icebreaker. There is no indication of how large or powerful these icebreakers would be other than the price, four for $750M. (That is four icebreakers for about half the price of a Polar Security Cutter.) If this happens, it will be worth watching.