Mr Putin gave a welcome address to the participants in the ceremony of raising the national flag on the new icebreaker St. Petersburg. Then Mr Putin inspected the icebreaker, went to the wheel house, and talked with the members of the crew.

After inspecting the wheel house, Mr Putin conducted a session of satellite communication with an icebreaker at sea. He asked how things were going, and wished the captain further success. Bidding farewell, Mr Putin put a signature on the Board of Honour for the crew.

* * *

Speech at the ceremony of raising the national flag on the new icebreaker St. Petersburg:

I would like to congratulate the shipwrights, the shipbuilders, and the crew.

In the last few years, we have rarely commissioned ships of this class and status, and raised our national flag on their board.

We need an icebreaker fleet, we need these ships. We need them in the Arctic, and here in the Baltic Sea to clear the way for the increasingly busy shipping lanes.
You know that in the last few years, we have done much to develop port facilities here in the North-West, both on the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland in Ust-Luga, and in Primorsk. And, needless to say, we need these ships to facilitate the transport of freight and other traffic.

We mentioned the need to deepen the channels. When this task was proposed here in the north-west, there were many doubts. I am referring to the fact that there is no ice in the south.

It would seem that ships should be in service year-round, but it transpired that it was often more economical to leave the ships at Black Sea ports losing money on demurrage during autumn and winter.

Obviously, here where we have ice, and the work is more proficient than in the south. However, these conditions should be adequately secured, and the icebreaker fleet has to play a role in this.

This ship (St. Petersburg) is the most modern. It is more than an icebreaker. It is also a fire fighting ship, a research ship, a ship for studying the sea bed and for conducting an entire range of sophisticated operations.

The fact that our colleagues have accomplished all the parameters of this project instills us with optimism. Now we know that ships of other classes can and must be built at domestic, Russian shipyards. Today, we have also discussed this opportunity, and I am confident that many of our plans will be carried out.

To conclude, allow me to congratulate the ship-builders and the seamen with this success once again. Fair seas and go with your back to the wind! I wish you good luck.