Krasin (icebreaker)
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Krasin is the name of two Soviet icebreakers, named after Leonid Borisovich Krasin.
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[edit] Krasin, former Svyatogor
The first icebreaker Krasin was built for the Imperial Russian Navy by Armstrong Whitworth in Newcastle upon Tyne. She was launched as Svyatogor on 3 August 1916. Length 99,80 m, breadth 21,65 m, draft 7,5 m. DWT 4,220 tons, GRT 6,048 tons and NRT 1,687 tons.
This icebreaker had a long, distinguished career in rescue operations, as well as a pathfinder and explorer of the Northern Sea Route. In 1920, after the Russian Revolution, the Svyatogor rescued Icebreaker Lenin with 85 persons on board.
In 1927 this icebreaker was renamed by the Soviet government to honor the recently deceased Krasin. Perhaps the most famous duty the Krasin performed was rescuing the expedition of downed balloonist General Umberto Nobile close to the North Pole, during his failed Italian Polar expedition in 1928. Later in the same year, Krasin rescued German passenger ship Monte Servantes, with 1835 passengers on board, after it hit an iceberg and its hull was severely damaged.
In 1933 Krasin became the first vessel to reach the hitherto inaccessible northern shores of Novaya Zemlya in the history of navigation.
During World War II, Krasin participated in many Russian convoys. In 1942 the Krasin was spotted at the Mona Islands in the Kara Sea by a Kriegsmarine plane during Operation Wunderland. Heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer rushed to find it, but providential bad weather, fog and ice conditions saved icebreaker Krasin from destruction.
Krasin was put on dock and reconstructed at Wismar, Germany, between 1953 and 1960. Then it continued in service until relatively recently, and is now a museum ship in Saint Petersburg.
[edit] References
- William Barr, The Drift of Lenin's Convoy in the Laptev Sea.
- Web page of the Krasin Museum
- Krasin history website
- HNSA Web Page: Icebreaker Krasin
[edit] Krasin (1976)
The second Krasin is an A1-class icebreaker owned by the Far East Shipping Company (FESCO) and based in Vladivostok. The ship was built at the Helsinki New Shipyard in Helsinki, Finland in 1976. Krasin can break 6 ft thick ice.
| Displacement | 20,190 tons |
| Length | 442 feet |
| Propulsion | 36,000 shp |
| Speed | 19.5 knots |
During the 2004-2005 season (Operation Deep Freeze 2005), the United States Antarctic Program hired the Krasin as a secondary vessel to help clear a channel to McMurdo Station because the Coast Guard icebreaker Polar Star faced a record 90+ mile cut through fast ice. After Polar Star made the initial cut to McMurdo, Krasin assisted by grooming (widening) the thin outer channel, which consisted of first-year ice. Meanwhile, Polar Star broke the thicker, much denser multi-year ice near the station.
[edit] External links
de:Krasin (Eisbrecher) it:Krasin (rompighiaccio) pl:Krasin (lodołamacz) fi:Krasin (jäänmurtaja)
