A cargo ship carrying materials and equipment for the Akkuyu nuclear power plant - including the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) for unit 2 - has arrived from Russia at the construction site on the southern coast of Turkey. The RPV is now in storage onsite awaiting installation later this year.

The reactor pressure vessel for Akkuyu 2 is unloaded from the cargo ship (Image: Rosatom)

The ship left St Petersburg in northwest Russia on 23 November and, after sailing more than 9000 kilometres, has now arrived at the Eastern Cargo Terminal Vostochny at the Akkuyu construction site. Among its cargo was the RPV for unit 2 as well as sections of the second tier of inner containment for unit 3, pipes and other equipment and materials.

The steel RPV - 12 metres in height, 4.5 metres wide and weighing 334 tonnes - has been unloaded and placed in a temporary storage place, where it will be subject to an inspection.

"Production and delivery of the main equipment for Akkuyu NPP are carried out precisely in accordance with the planned schedule," said Sergey Butckikh, first deputy CEO and director of NPP construction at Akkuyu Nükleer AŞ.

Manufacture of the RPV for Akkuyu 2 began at Izhorskiye Zavody in March 2019. The RPV for unit 1 was delivered to the construction site in November 2020 and installed in June last year. The production of the RPV for unit 3 continues at the Volgodonsk branch of AEM-Technologies JSC of Atommash, part of Atomenergomash, the machine production division of Russian state atomic energy corporation Rosatom.

Rosatom is building four VVER-1200 reactors at Akkuyu, under a so-called BOO (build-own-operate) model. Construction of the first unit began in 2018, with startup planned for 2023. The 4800 MWe plant is expected to meet about 10% of Turkey's electricity needs.

Turkey's Nuclear Regulatory Authority has approved the manufacture of the power unit electrical equipment instrumentation and control for Akkuyu units 1 and 2, Rosatom noted yesterday.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News