Maritime Administration rejects Russian icebreaker

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The Finnish Maritime Administration has declined to take a Russian icebreaker that it was offered for use in the coming winter season.
      The Finnish state-owned shipping company Finstaship proposed that a Russian icebreaker should replace the multi-purpose icebreaker, the Fennica. Argentina has asked Finstaship if the Fennica could be sent to Argentina for the coming season to replace the Almirante Irizar, the flagship of the Argentine fleet. The Finnish-built Almirante Irizar was badly damaged in a fire in April of this year and will be out of commission for a long time.
     
Argentina needs an icebreaker to provide access to the country's bases on Antarctica. This is possible only during the Antarctic summer - when it is winter in Finland.
      Finstaship proposed the Yuri Topchev, a vessel which was completed in Norway last year, as a temporary replacement for the Fennica. The vessel was intended for the waters of Sakhalin, but delays in projects in that area mean that the new vessel would be available for other uses.
     
The Finnish Maritime Administration feels, however, that although the Russian icebreaker is of modern design, it is not an appropriate ship for Finland, as the crew have no experience of the Finnish winter, or of helping vessels in these conditions.
      The Yuri Topchev's stern also lacks a fork into which a ship being assisted can place its bow during towing.
     


Links:
  Almirante Irizar
  Maritime Administration
  M/S Fennica
  Finstaship

Helsingin Sanomat