Arctia Icebreaking Ltd and Canadian Baffinland Iron Mines Corporation announced in August that they had signed an agreement on annual chartering for the shipping seasons 2023–2025. The agreement covers icebreaking and assistance services with one multipurpose icebreaker in the Canadian Arctic.
Arctia’s multipurpose icebreakers, sister vessels Fennica and Nordica, are vessels developed in cooperation between ILS and Arctia’s predecessor organization, the then Finnish Maritime Administration, and designed to operate as both escort icebreakers and offshore support vessels. In addition, they can be deployed in Arctic operations. The vessels with excellent icebreaking capability are also very good in terms of open water characteristics. The versatile vessels have successfully worked in various tasks in the Baltic Sea, North Sea and elsewhere in the world, from the coasts of Brazil to Alaskan waters.
The third originally Finnish multipurpose icebreaker, Botnica – sold to Estonia in 2012 and operated by TS-Shipping, owned by the Port of Tallinn – has also operated in the Canadian Arctic in recent years, assisting iron ore transports from Baffinland’s mines. In addition to escort icebreaking, Botnica has carried out ice management and operations in search & rescue preparedness, for example. In addition, it has served as a support vessel for Canadian oceanographers. Like Fennica and Nordica, Botnica has been designed to have excellent open water characteristics. It is very useful in Arctic operations, which also involve, for example, long transition journeys through the harsh conditions of the oceans.
In 2018, ILS’s long-term customer, supply shipping company Viking Supply Ships, sold its three Tor Viking class multipurpose icebreakers to Canada, where they have served as medium class icebreakers for the Canadian Coast Guard after modifications. The entire icebreaking dimension of the vessels has been designed by ILS. ILS designed and optimized the icebreaking capabilities of the vessels so that their main function as a seaworthy offshore support vessel was not compromised. The vessels have proven their good functionality as multipurpose icebreakers in both icebreaking in the Baltic Sea and in demanding offshore tasks in the North Sea oil fields, and they have also operated in the Arctic regions.
https://www.arctia.fi/en/news/arctia-has-signed-an-agreement-for-international-charter.html
