The initial plan was to utilize "Sevmorput" in international transport, and the Soviet government applied for a permission to have the ship make several stops in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, in March 1990. However, the permission was denied because the evacuation and emergency response measures of the city were not deemed adequate in case of an accident involving the ship's nuclear reactor. Later the ship was mainly used on the Murmansk-Dudinka route, but also made several trips to Vietnam in the early 1990s. The daily operating expenses of "Sevmorput" were reportedly around US$90,000 and she was not expected to make profit during the first two years of her career.