Finns underwhelmed by Swedish plans for giant icebreaker

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Finnish maritime experts are not impressed by the Swedes' idea to build a giant icebreaker to operate on the Baltic Sea. The new vessel would be the largest icebreaker in the world.
      In a recent interview with Swedish Radio, Göran Liljeström of the Swedish Maritime Administration presented designs for a giant icebreaker that would be close to 200 metres long, and up to 50 metres in breadth, and even wider with additional fittings to the hull.
      Finland's largest icebreakers Urho and Sisu are both 105 metres from stem to stern with a beam of 24 metres.
      According to a Swedish estimate, the giant icebreaker would cost close to EUR 200 million, whereas the Finns estimate that a new environment-oriented icebreaker to assist vessels on the Gulf of Finland would cost only EUR 30 to 70 million.
     
The giant icebreaker would serve the increasing number of oil shipments - mostly of Russian oil - that are carried by larger and larger tankers. Liljeström reminded the listeners that for example in the winter of 2003, the ice conditions on the Baltic Sea were so difficult that two icebreakers were needed to assist a large tanker.
     
Ilmari Aro of the Finnish Maritime Administration is aware of the Swedish plans, as they have been presented already in a Baltic Sea Icebreaking meeting.
      However, Aro is not enthusiastic about the world's largest icebreaker, and would not invest any euros in the project, as Finland is currently focusing on its own environment-oriented icebreaker.
      According to Aro, Sweden's proposed giant vessel would serve as a part of the EU's Baltic Sea motorway project, which aims at improving overseas contacts in the winter. In the summertime it would operate on the Northeastern route, north of Eurasia, between the Atlantic Ocean and the Bering Strait.
     
As far as Aro has been informed, the Russians are not interested in the project, either, even if it would serve their oil shipments from the eastern end of the Gulf. Instead, Russia has ordered icebreakers of their own to operate on the Gulf of Finland.
      According to CEO Esko Mustamäki of the Finnish icebreaker service provider, the state-owned Finstaship, the company has nothing to do with the giant icebreaker project.


Links:
  Finnish Maritime Administration
  Swedish Maritime Administration
  Finstaship

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