On January 28, another stage of construction of the floating power generation unit was completed at the Baltic Shipyard – this is the world’s first floating nuclear co-generation plant (FNCP) Akademik Lomonosov. Loading of metal-water protection tanks for the nuclear reactors occurred at the facility in the next two days.
Two 300-ton metal-water protection (MWP) tanks manufactured at the Baltic Shipyard were placed inside a reactor room of the floating PGU by Demag floating crane – witnessed by the client’s representatives, RosEnergoAtom Group. Because of harsh ice conditions on the Neva, the operation comprised two stages: the first tank was loaded on the first day, and the second one – on the other.
According to Aleksandr Voznesensky, the Baltic Shipyard General Director, installation of the MWP tank is a real milestone in construction of a vessel with the nuclear power generation unit. “Our process engineers who handled several dozens of such items like to joke: as soon as a tank is loaded on the ship, you can consider this ship already built,” he noted. A MWP tank is one of the key elements of a reactor unit. It fulfils three functions at a time: reactor foundation, biological protection and a coolant loop.
Construction of the floating PGU started in 2008, froze in the middle of 2011 and resumed in December 2012 when, upon long-lasting negotiations, the client for the power unit (RosEnergoAtom Group) awarded the contract to OOO Baltic Yard – Shipbuilding. Under the terms of the contract, the Baltic Shipyard commits to hand over the floating PGU ready for towing to the operation site on September 9, 2016.