A FLOATING nuclear power station that Russia is planning to build to serve
its Arctic communities may be towed abroad to provide electricity for Indonesia,
China and India, much to the alarm of Russia鈥檚 neighbours.
Russia announced three weeks ago that it was intending to build the floating
power station鈥攖he first in the world鈥攖o supply power to Pevek, a
remote region of eastern Siberia. The station鈥檚 reactor would be similar to
those used by the latest nuclear icebreakers, which operate out of Murmansk and
ply the rivers and coastline of Siberia every winter. It would be towed the 4000
kilometres to Murmansk every 13 years for servicing.
But Vyacheslav Ruksha, vice-president of the Murmansk Shipping Company鈥檚
icebreaker fleet, says that Russia is also negotiating to lease or sell the
floating nuclear power plant, or similar ones, to Indonesia, China and India so
that they can supply power to outlying islands or distant coastal
communities.
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The prospect of floating nuclear plants being towed from the Arctic to Asia
worries Russia鈥檚 neighbours. 鈥淭his is not the kind of progress I am hoping for
from Russia,鈥� says J酶rgen Kosmo, Norway鈥檚 defence minister. 鈥淭hey should use
their first-class engineers to make existing power plants more secure, rather
than try to realise this vision of floating plants.鈥�