After transporting a second shipment of fish from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky to Saint Petersburg in September 2020, reportedly on the orders of President Vladimir Putin, "Sevmorput" loaded prefabricated building modules for the new Vostok Station in Antarctica and departed on 5 October. This would mark the first time a nuclear-powered surface ship would sail to the Earth's southernmost continent. After leaving the Baltic Sea and passing through the English Channel, "Sevmorput" headed south along the European and African coasts. However, shortly after crossing the Equator the vessel unexpectedly slowed down from its usual transit speed of about to about and, after sailing back and forth along its past track for a while, changed course towards Africa. Although Rosatomflot initially declined to comment the situation, unofficial reports implied that "Sevmorput" lost one of its four propeller blades and divers had to remove the opposite blade to balance the propeller. On 26 November, it was confirmed that "Sevmorput" would have to head back to Saint Petersburg for drydocking and the construction of the new Vostok station would be postponed to 2021 due to deteriorating ice conditions in Antarctica.