The Norilsk, the prototype vessel of the spectacular SA15 freighter series, has been sold for recycling at Huangpu, China, for USD 415 per light ton, USD 4.49 million in total. The ship has 10,816 tons of steel. The Norilsk was delivered from Wärtsilä’s shipyard at Turku in 1982 and hit the headlines worldwide as it was the first cargo carrying icebreaker ever and built for the trade between the nickel mine in Dudinka in Russia and the rest of the world. The vessel and its 18 sister ships were outfitted as icebreakers with large engine plants. All equipment on board was built for operation in temperatures down to minus 40°C.
The Norilsk at Nørresundby. Photo: Bent Mikkelsen
The vessel has a length of 176.85 metres and a beam of 24.5 metres. Its draft is 10.52 metres. Cargo capacity is 25,300 cbm and there is space for 576 TEUs. Several of the sister ships have been sold off from Russia/Soviet Union and Norilsk is not the first in the series to be recycled. In 1990, Norilsk arrived in Nørresundby, Denmark, with the first cargo ever brought from Japan via the North East Passage to Denmark.
