The European Maritime Safety Agency EMSA has leased the Finnish icebreaker Kontio for three years to help fight possible oil spills in the northern Baltic.
The contract, worth EUR 4 million, includes a three-year option - the possibility of an extension after the first three years is up.
The vessel should be ready for oil spill duty in June or July next year. Under the contract Kontio will be on 24-hour alert at all times except during the icebreaking season. Asto Uusiaho of the state-owned shipping enterprise Finstaship sees the contract as a milestone.
It is the first time that an orthodox icebreaker has been given a task outside the traditional icebreaking period. He says that the Kontio will greatly improve the capacity to fight oil spills in the Baltic, because it is able to operate in all possible ice conditions.
