Next generation of icebreakers for Baltic Sea

The design of the icebreakers will be carried out as a joint procurement. The two agencies previously cooperated as part of the procurement of the Atle/Urho class of icebreakers in the 1970s.

The two agencies have not yet reached an agreement around the possible construction of the icebreakers. The Motorship notes that provision for future conversion to dual-fuel operation was included in a recent common rail upgrade project aboard Ymer, which extended the vessel’s operational life.

The agencies noted that as the size of the vessels operating to Finnish and Swedish ports is increasing, tighter environmental requirements is reducing the engine power of merchant ships, and the reduced engine power is affecting their ability to move through ice.