OREANDA-NEWS. August 22, 2011. At the Passenger Terminal in Murmansk seaport an inauguration ceremony of the multifunctional container ship Rossita was held. The ship arrived at Murmansk from the Italian port La Spezia on August 15. This is the first ship that has joined Rosatomflot’s (a ROSATOM’s company) fleet since 2007.

The ceremony was attended by Head of the Murmansk Municipality A. Veller, Atomflot Director General V. Ruksha, representative of the Nuclear Safety Directorate of ROSATOM A. Samodurova, as well as representatives of a number of non-governmental and ecological organizations.

At the ceremony V. Ruksha said: “The ship, as a means of transportation for SNF, has a great importance for implementation of the ROSATOM master plan for disposal of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) of disposed nuclear submarines in Navy’s former bases in North-West Russia.

Now, the Rossita is to undergo 6-8-month trials. The ship will make 2-3 trips with conventional cargo. Commencing the first quarter of 2012 she will be loaded with spent nuclear fuel. I hope that within 10 years environmental problems of this region will be solved with the help of the Rossita.”