''Pyotr Pakhtusov'' ( rus, Пётр Пахтусов) was a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

and later

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

icebreaker An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters, and provide safe waterways for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to sma ...

and

hydrographic survey vessel A research vessel (RV or R/V) is a ship or boat designed, modified, or equipped to carry out research at sea. Research vessels carry out a number of roles. Some of these roles can be combined into a single vessel but others require a dedicated ...

in service from 1966 until 1997.

Description

In the mid-1950s, the Soviet Union began developing a new diesel-electric icebreaker design based on the 1942-built steam-powered icebreaker ''Eisbär'' to meet the needs of both civilian and naval operators. Built in various configurations until the early 1980s, the

Project 97 icebreaker Project 97 icebreakers and their derivatives are a diverse series of diesel-electric icebreakers and other icebreaking vessels built in the Soviet Union. In total, 32 vessels were built in various configurations for both civilian and naval service ...

s and their derivatives became the largest and longest-running class of icebreakers and icebreaking vessels built in the world. Of the 32 ships built in total, two Project 97D icebreakers were built with additional facilities for

hydrographic surveys Hydrographic survey is the science of measurement and description of features which affect maritime navigation, marine construction, dredging, offshore oil exploration/ offshore oil drilling and related activities. Strong emphasis is placed ...

. Project 97D icebreakers were

long overall __NOTOC__ Length overall (LOA, o/a, o.a. or oa) is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, and ...

and had a beam of . Fully laden, the vessels drew of water and had a displacement of . Their three 10-cylinder 13D100

two-stroke A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being completed in one revolution of t ...

opposed-piston An opposed-piston engine is a piston engine in which each cylinder has a piston at both ends, and no cylinder head. Petrol and diesel opposed-piston engines have been used mostly in large-scale applications such as ships, military tanks, and f ...

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-ca ...

s were coupled to generators that powered electric propulsion motors driving two propellers in the stern and a third one in the bow. ''Pyotr Pakhtusov'' also featured an experimental bow washing system to increase the icebreaking capability of the vessel. Compared to baseline Project 97 icebreakers, the vessels fitted for hydrographic surveys featured additional scientific facilities, echosounders to conduct hydrographic survey, and accommodation for an additional 14 personnel.

History

The first of two Project 97D icebreakers was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one ...

Admiralty Shipyard The JSC Admiralty Shipyards (russian: link=no, Адмиралтейские верфи) (''formerly Soviet Shipyard No. 194'') is one of the oldest and largest shipyards in Russia, located in Saint Petersburg. The shipyard's building ways can ac ...

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

on 21 May 1966, launched on 8 August 1966, and delivered on 30 December 1966. Launched as ''Ledokol-10'' ( rus, Ледокол-10),

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

for "icebreaker", the vessel was renamed after the Russian 19th century surveyor and Arctic explorer

Pyotr Kuzmich Pakhtusov Pyotr Kuzmich Pakhtusov (russian: Петр Кузьмич Пахтусов) (1800 in Kronstadt – November 19, 1835 in Arkhangelsk) was a Russian surveyor and Arctic explorer. He is credited with the first thorough survey of Novaya Zemlya. Betw ...

(1800–1835) before commissioning. The vessel entered service with the Hydrographic Service of the USSR and was registered in

Arkhangelsk Arkhangelsk (, ; rus, Арха́нгельск, p=ɐrˈxanɡʲɪlʲsk), also known in English as Archangel and Archangelsk, is a city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina near i ...

. However, the vessel spent its first winter breaking ice in the Baltic Sea. In 1971, ''Pyotr Pakhtusov'' was renamed ''Mendeleev'' ( rus, Менделеев) after the Russian chemist and inventor

Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev (sometimes transliterated as Mendeleyev or Mendeleef) ( ; russian: links=no, Дмитрий Иванович Менделеев, tr. , ; 8 February O.S. 27 January">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="no ...

(1834–1907), but reverted to its previous name in 1975. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, ''Pyotr Pakhtusov'' passed over to the successor state,

. The ownership of the vessel was transferred to the

Port of Arkhangelsk Port of Arkhangelsk (russian: Архангельский морской торговый порт) is a major seaport at Arkhangelsk, located at the mouth of the Northern Dvina River, 50 km from the Dvina Bay of the White Sea. The important ...

in 1992 and to a private company, JSC "Stalker", in 1995. In 1997, ''Pyotr Pakhtusov'' was renamed ''Prabhavi'' and reflagged to

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent and the Grenadines () is an island country in the Caribbean. It is located in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, which lie in the West Indies at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea ...

for its final voyage to Alang, India, for

scrapping Scrap consists of recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap has monetary value, especially recovered me ...

References

{{Project 97 icebreakers Icebreakers of the Soviet Union Icebreakers of Russia Survey ships 1966 ships Ships built at Admiralty Shipyard