Arctech Helsinki and USC Joint Venture to Build New Finnish Icebreaker

Arctech Helsinki Shipyard, in a joint venture with Russia’s United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC), signed a contract with the Finnish Transport Agency to build a new 19MW dual fuel LNG-powered icebreaker aimed for use in the Baltic Sea.  The cost of the new vessel is in the range of € 123 million (including € 24 million in European Union grants, and it is expected to be delivered in early 2016.

“The new basic icebreaker will be owned by the Finnish Transport Agency. Our goal is that the business model adopted for the operations of the new icebreaker will enhance competition. The Finnish icebreaking operations were opened to competition already in 2004, but in practice the opened competition has neither created effective markets nor improved efficiency”, says Antti Vehviläinen, Director General of the Finnish Transport Agency.

The contract signing ceremony was attended by Finland’s Minister of Transport and Communications, Merja Kyllönen and President of USC, Vladimir Shmakov.

“Getting a big contract shipyard Arctech Helsinki Shipyard, with recognized competence in the construction and equipping of high-tech ice-class vessels, we believe it is important joint achievement of Russian-Finnish shipbuilding cluster having good prospects for further development for the benefit of our two countries,” – said Vladimir Shmakov.

At the press conference it was noted that the signing of the contract was a very important event in the economic life of Finland.

According to USC, this new icebreaker will be capable of maintaining a constant speed through ice of up to 1.6 meters in thickness and to lay a 25-meter channel width in ice thickness of 1.2 m at a speed of about 6 knots.

In open water, she will cruise at 16 knots.

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