Finland Icebreaker to Fit ABB Azipods, Power Plant

ABB inform that it has secured a new order to supply electric power plant and Azipod propulsion units for an ice breaker vessel to be built for Finnish Transport Agency (FTA) at Arctech Helsinki Shipyard.

Due for delivery in 2016 and set for operation in the Baltic Sea, the new vessel will feature dual fuel capability, and as such will be the first icebreaker in operation able to run using liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a fuel, cutting both emissions and fuel cost.

The concept designers at Aker Arctic Technology and ILS were instructed to select the industry’s most advanced technologies to meet icebreaking conditions in the Baltic Sea year-round, and to perform open sea oil spill response and towing duties in summer and winter. Basic design of the vessel is by Arctech. Once operational, the new vessel is expected to attract worldwide attention to Finnish arctic expertise.


ABB explain that central to the vessel’s performance expectations will be its three-pod propulsion solution, with a 6MW Azipod unit at the bow and two 6.5MW units at the stern included to optimize efficiency and maneuverability in ice-ridge conditions in particular.

“The safety of seaborne transport in the Baltic Sea is under political and regulatory scrutiny as never before, making FTA’s preference for ABB’s power and propulsion technology based on our proven references” says Heikki Soljama, head of ABB’s Marine and Cranes business unit. “Once more, the system’s performance and its ease of maintenance have proved critical factors in the selection process. It is no coincidence that the most forward-looking icebreaker designs invariably feature podded propulsion.”

ABB add that it can trace its supply record of icebreaker electric propulsion technology to the Finnish market back 75 years, to the 1939 delivery of the icebreaker Sisu to the Finnish Government, which featured electric propulsion systems from Stromberg.

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