January 6, 2026
Chainsaws on ice, comments on fire
Repair a ship’s hull still in the river in -50˚C (2022)
Siberia’s ice-locked ship repairs spark pun wars, safety drama, and propane pro tips
TLDR: At a Yakutsk dock, crews cut through frozen river ice at -50°C to reach ship parts, even using paddle-wheel boats in shallow water. Commenters debated whether the deep freeze makes repairs easier or terrifyingly risky, swapping propane hacks and asking if winter simply becomes repair season.
Forget beach cruises — Siberia’s Zhatay dockyard just showed the internet how you fix a ship when the river is a solid block at -50°C: you chainsaw trench after trench through the ice until the hull and propeller are exposed. Cue the comment drama. One camp, led by throwawayffffas, argues the freeze actually helps: you’re on top of the river, not in it, so repairs can happen on a stable ice platform. Others fired back with safety alarms, pointing to a YouTube clip of a single mother cutting ice and warning it’s “easy to end up frozen to the river” — the mood shifted from wow to whoa. Practical pros chimed in too: ZeroConcerns reminded everyone that at those temps metal grabs skin and tools, so a propane burner becomes “indispensable.” Meanwhile, travel nerds swapped local-life content via KiunB, while jokesters riffed on the fleet’s paddle-wheels — “ships with wheels” sparked memes about river rollerblades. The logistics debate raged: are these ships basically parked till summer, making winter repair season? The answer from the thread’s vibe: yes, winter ice turns the river into a giant workbench. Brutal, ingenious, and just cold enough to ignite a thousand puns. Welcome to Siberia.
Key Points
- •Zhatay dockyard near Yakutsk performs ship repairs on the frozen Lena River due to limited dry-docks.
- •Workers cut ice layer by layer with chainsaws, allowing water beneath to refreeze before continuing until parts like the propeller are accessible.
- •Trenches are carved in the ice to reach specific ship components.
- •Paddle-wheel ships with shallow drafts are used because the Lena River is shallow with minimal tidal changes.
- •The dockyard also constructs ships and is building new shipbuilding production facilities.