Speaking at the launching ceremony, Vladimir Putin said that the birth of a ship is always a special event for shipbuilders but that today’s event was exceptional “because no other country in the world has such ships now.” According to the President, the building of vessels of such a class is important for restoring Russia’s presence on the Northern Sea Route.
After the ceremony, President Putin went around the shipyard with the shipyard’s head Vladimir Alexandrov.
The tanker Usinsk is the fifth in a series of reinforced ice-class vessels built on LUKoil’s order.