South Korea Bolsters Polar Capabilities Moving Ahead With Next-Generation Icebreaker

South Korea’s next-generation icebreaker is back on track. The country joins several other nations, including the U.S., Canada, Russia, China, and Germany upgrading and expanding their icebreaker capacity. 

Similar to developments in the U.S. and Canada the East Asian nation’s next-generation icebreaker has faced several delays pushing back the original 2027 launch date. A funding shortfall further delayed the project moving forward. With an increased budget allocation from 260.5 billion won ($180 million) to 317.6 billion won, officials expect several shipbuilders to submit tenders when bidding opens in May. 

With a displacement of 16,560 tonnes the dual-fuel icebreaker – it can use both low-sulfur diesel and LNG – will be twice as large as the country’s existing icebreaker, Araon. Its size compares to Germany’s Polarstern 2 design.

The new vessel will be South Korea’s second icebreaker following the 2009 commissioning of Araon. With a single polar-capable vessel the country faced challenges to conduct research in both the Arctic and Antarctic region.

South Korea joined the Arctic Council as an observer in 2013 and has since actively contributed to the body’s economic activities, policymaking, and research. The country’s shipyards, primarily Samsung Heavy Industries and Hanwha, have been instrumental in supporting Russia’s Arctic hydrocarbon plans.

All fifteen Arc7 ice-class LNG carriers for the Yamal LNG project were constructed by DSME (now Hanwha) with additional vessels and vessel elements for Arctic LNG 2 built by both Hanwha and SHI. Ice-capable oil tankers also originate at South Korean shipyards.

The country has also been a key anchor for expanded Arctic shipping with several container ship voyages via Russia’s Northern Sea Route originating or terminating at South Korean hubs, including Busan.

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