A waterborne nuclear power plant branded a “floating Chernobyl” by critics is being towed to the Russian Arctic, where it will provide energy to isolated factories and settlements. The Akademik Lomonosov will be moored in Pevek’s port in the remote Chukotka region, off the Arctic coast. It is the first floating station of its kind and is powered by two nuclear reactors modified from those used in atomic icebreakers. Its makers say that it is extremely robust and capable of withstanding pack ice or a tsunami. The vessel was to be loaded with nuclear fuel and tested in St Petersburg, but this will now take place in the northern port of Murmansk after opposition from Baltic states.

Source: The Times April 30, 2018 15:56 UTC