Polar Bear Club
China is working to develop a 33,069-ton nuclear icebreaker, designed to smash and grind its way through ice-covered waters, that would be even bigger than the epic nuclear-powered vessels built by Russia.
The state-owned China General Nuclear Power Group just passed its Wednesday deadline for accepting bids from Chinese companies interested in actually building the 152-meter ship, according to the South China Morning Post, possibly to build naval dominance in the Arctic.
Test Run
The experimental ship, which would be China’s first nuclear-powered surface vessel, would travel at a max speed of 11.5 knots, or just over 13 miles per hour, according to the SCMP, and it could pave the way for nuclear-propelled aircraft carriers.
Right now, only Russia has nuclear icebreakers in service — both Russia and China decided to develop the technology to help them expand their presence in the Arctic Ocean.
