Kapitan Khlebnikov Specs

Length	423.5 feet
Passengers	102 (Maximum)
Gross Tonnage	12288
Engines	6/3 Diesel/Electric
Horsepower	25,000
Beam	87.5 feet
Zodiacs	8
Helicopters	2 (MI-2) 8 passenger
Class	Icebreaker
Registration and Ship Crew	Russian (Vladivostok)
Ownership	Far Eastern Shipping Company (FESCO)
Ice Rating	9.8 feet ice thickness
Additonal Equipment	Bubblers, Ballast Transfer Tanks, Low Friction Hull Paint

The KK was not built as a cruise ship. This has many disadvantages but an equal or greater number of advantages. One of the principal disadvantages is that its passenger amenities are few - the accommodations are very basic. The other big disadvantage is that it rolls heavily in rough seas, often in excess of 30 degrees each way! This does not make it a ship for the queasy or those interested in extreme comfort.

Its advantages stem from the fact that it was built as an icebreaker. Not just "ice-rated", or "ice-hardened", or "ice-strengthened", this is a full-on ice-BREAKER. It can cut through up to almost 10 feet of solid ice and can therefore handle ice that would sink or strand the other categories of tourist ships. As far as I am aware, it is the only icebreaker to be operating in the Antarctic with tourists. It has six diesel engines that run six generators that can be tied to any of the three electric motors that drive the three propeller shafts. This is somewhat similar to submarine or diesel locomotive drives. This seemingly complex setup offers more control as well as more redundancy than standard power plant setups.

The other big advantage it has is that almost no other Antarctic tourist vessel carries helicopters. Without these, there could have been no visits to many of the places we went on our trip.

Of course, all of this costs money. The cheapest cabin on the ship for this itinerary (2005-2006 season) is appx. $14,000 US per person and the best cabins cost $27,100 US per person. Is it worth it? It depends on whether you want to go to all of the places we did. If so, it is the only game in town.