Polaris is a Finnish icebreaker. Built in 2016 by Arctech Helsinki Shipyard, she is the most powerful icebreaker ever to fly the Finnish flag and the first icebreaker in the world to feature dual-fuel engines capable of using both low-sulfur marine diesel oil (LSMDO) and liquefied natural gas (LNG). Polaris was initially ordered by the Finnish Transport Agency, but the ownership was transferred to the state-owned icebreaker operator Arctia after delivery.
Background While the history of winter navigation in Finland dates back to the strengthened sleigh-boats used to carry mail from Finland to Sweden in the 17th century, the annual "ice blockade" that closed the Finnish ports for the winter months and stopped nearly all foreign trade was not broken until 1890 when the Finnish Board of Navigation commissioned one of the first purpose-built icebreakers in the world. Despite her shortcomings, Murtaja proved that year-round shipping was possible in the Baltic Sea and the first Finnish icebreaker was soon followed by bigger and more powerful vessels with only one purpose: to keep the shipping lanes open and escort merchant ships to and from the Finnish ports through the winter. In the late 1930s, steam gave way to diesel when the first Finnish diesel-electric icebreaker, Sisu, entered service in 1939.
While all Finnish state-owned icebreakers survived the Winter War and Continuation War against the Soviet Union, Finland had to hand over its newest and most powerful steam-powered icebreakers to the Soviet Union as war reparations. The rebuilding of the icebreaker fleet began in the early 1950s with the commissioning of the diesel-electric Voima, the first icebreaker in the world to feature two bow propellers, in 1954. She was followed by two more icebreakers before the end of the decade to replace the steam-powered pre-war icebreakers now deemed obsolete, four in the 1960s to answer to the demands of the growing foreign trade, and finally three in the 1970s to keep all Finnish ports open through the winter.
In the early 1980s, the Finnish National Board of Navigation began looking for a replacement for the three 1950s icebreakers which were small and, despite their size, expensive to operate as they required a relatively large crew of 53. They were replaced by two large icebreakers, Otso and Kontio, featuring extensive automation, alternating current propulsion motors with cycloconverter drive, and a sleek hull form perfected in a model basin, but for the first time since the late 1800s no bow propellers. Around the same time, the 'National Board of Navigation' also began looking for secondary uses for the icebreakers which were traditionally employed only for three to five months per year and spent the summer months moored at Katajanokka in Helsinki. When the next class of post-war icebreakers was approaching the end of its economic life, it was decided to replace them with multipurpose vessels that could be chartered to support commercial offshore operations in oil fields when they were not needed in the Finnish waters. Three such multipurpose icebreakers were built in the 1990s: Fennica (1993), Nordica (1994), and Botnica (1998). The vessels, which were the first large icebreakers to use azimuth thrusters for propulsion, were sometimes criticized for their lower icebreaking performance and higher operational costs when compared to traditional icebreakers.Voelker, R. Trip Report to Northern Europe for National Science Foundation project. US Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration, 22 April 2003. Retrieved 3 August 2011 Botnica, which had not been used for icebreaking in Finland for some years, was sold to Estonia in 2012.Botnica-jäänmurtaja myytiin Viroon 50 miljoonalla. Helsingin Sanomat, 24 October 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2015
Although the topic of ordering a new icebreaker surfaced from time to time, funding for the vessel projected to cost 100 to 120 million euro was not included in the budget until 2012 when 125 million euro was allocated for a new vessel with a design lifetime of 50 years.Liikenne- ja viestintäministeriön budjettiehdotus 2,9 miljardia euroa . Liikenne- ja viestintäministeriö, 8 August 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2012 Of this, 25 million euro would come from the Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T) program of the European Union.70. Jäänmurtajan hankinta (siirtomääräraha 3 v). Talousarvioesitys 2013. Valtiovarainministeriö. Initially, the new icebreaker was supposed to replace the 1954-built Voima, the oldest and smallest icebreaker in the Finnish state-owned fleet as well as technically the oldest icebreaker in the world still in active service. When the new icebreaker was ordered, it was stated that the new vessel would primarily replace the Atle-class icebreaker Frej that the Finnish government has chartered from Sweden while Voima would remain in limited service.
Development and construction The technical requirements were outlined in a tender specification published by the Finnish Transport Agency on 11 February 2013. According to the specification, the new icebreaker would have to be at least equivalent to the most powerful Finnish icebreakers in service at the time – the 16.2-megawatt quad-screw Urho-class icebreakers — in terms of icebreaking capability. Optimized for escort icebreaker operations in the northern Baltic Sea, the vessel would have to be powerful enough to operate without becoming immobilized in all prevailing ice conditions, including compressive pressure ridge fields, and maintain an average escort speed of through the winter. The bollard pull and propulsion power would have to be sufficient to allow continuous operation in level ice with a thickness of and snow cover as well as make the vessel capable of opening a channel through uniform ice field at a speed of . The specification also called for excellent maneuverability, demonstrated by the ability to turn 180 degrees in 3 minutes within two ship's lengths in the aforementioned ice conditions.Hankintailmoitus: Liikennevirasto: Liikenneviraston jäänmurtajan konseptisuunnittelu sekä telakkakilpailutuksen teknisen materiaalin valmistelu mallikokeineen. Liite 4: Jäänmurtajan tekniset spesifikaatiovaatimukset. Drno 616/1003/2013. Liikennevirasto, 11 February 2013.
Although designed primarily for icebreaking, the new Finnish icebreaker would have a secondary task as an oil spill response vessel during the summer months as a response to the increasing traffic and oil transportation in the Baltic Sea. For this purpose, the vessel would be fitted with equipment for mechanical recovery of spilled oil in both open water and ice conditions. Since icebreakers traditionally have poor seakeeping characteristics due to their rounded hull form, the technical specification stressed the vessel's ability to carry out oil spill response and emergency towing operations in 95% of the prevailing wind and wave conditions in the Baltic Sea.
On 16 April 2013, the Finnish Transport Agency awarded the contract for the design of the new icebreaker to two Finnish engineering companies specializing in the design of icebreaking ships. The vessel would be designed by Aker Arctic Technology Inc in co-operation with ILS Oy. In addition to conceptual design, which included comparing two concept alternatives – a conventional icebreaker with two azimuth thrusters and a new concept with three propulsion units – in terms of performance and cost, the companies would prepare the technical material needed to arrange the tender for the construction of the vessel and assist the Finnish Transport Agency in negotiations with shipyards.Aker Arctic to design new icebreaker for the Finnish government. Finnish Transport Agency, 16 April 2013. Aker Arctic would also carry out model tests in the company's ice tank to verify the performance of the new icebreaker. The shipyard to build the 125 million euro icebreaker would be selected later in that year after an international bidding process.STX Finlandin Turun ja Rauman telakat saavat yhteisen johtajan. Turun Sanomat, 16 April 2013.
On 20 June 2013, the Finnish Transport Agency published a request for tender for the construction of the new icebreaker with an intention of creating a shortlist of three to five shipyards that would be invited to the final call for bids later in the autumn.Hankintailmoitus: Liikennevirasto: Jäänmurtajahankinta. Liite 1: Jäänmurtajahankinta, osallistumiskutsu. Drno 3185/1003/2013. 19 June 2013. Only shipyards that had built at least one ship capable of operating independently in ice within the past three years could qualify for the bidding process,Hankintailmoitus: Liikennevirasto: Jäänmurtajahankinta. Liite 2: Referenssilomake – Yrityksen referenssit. Drno 3185/1003/2013. 20 June 2013. limiting the selection to just a handful of shipyards, such as STX Finland and Arctech Helsinki Shipyard in Finland, Nordic Yards Wismar in Germany and VARD in Norway, where such vessels have been built in the 2010s.Turku kisaa vahvasti jäänmurtajasta. Turun Sanomat, 26 November 2013. Jäänmurtaja voidaan rakentaa ulkomailla. Turun Sanomat, 2 October 2013. The tendering documents also included additional information about the technical features of the new vessel, such as the ability to use liquefied natural gas as fuel and a new kind of propulsion system consisting of three azimuth thrusters, one of which would be placed in the bow of the vessel.Hankintailmoitus: Liikennevirasto: Jäänmurtajahankinta. Liite 4: Alustava tekninen kuvaus Liikenneviraston uuden sukupolven jäänmurtajasta Itämeren alueelle. Drno 3185/1003/2013. 20 June 2013.
On 27 November 2013, the construction of the new Finnish icebreaker was awarded to Arctech Helsinki Shipyard and the Finnish Transport Agency intended to sign the shipbuilding contract before the year's end. The only other shipbuilding company that submitted a bid, STX Finland, was disqualified after the shipyard failed to present sufficient guaranties.Uusi jäänmurtaja rakennetaan Helsingissä. Helsingin Sanomat, 27 November 2013. Arctech Helsinki Shipyard won the tender of the new icebreaker for the Finnish Government . Arctech Helsinki Shipyard, 27 November 2013. However, on 29 November the Finnish Transport Agency cancelled the contract, citing issues with guaranties offered by the shipyard, and was forced to re-open the bidding to other shipyards.Jäänmurtajan hankintapäätös kumotaan. YLE, 29 November 2013. Jäänmurtajan tilaus ratkennee viikon sisällä. Turun Sanomat, 13 January 2014. On 22 January 2014, Arctech Helsinki Shipyard won the second round of the tendering process and the final contract was signed on 14 February.Uusi jäänmurtaja tilattiin Arctechiltä. Helsingin Sanomat, 22 January 2014. Arctech to build the new icebreaker for the Finnish Transport Agency . Arctech Helsinki Shipyard, 22 January 2014.
In August 2014, the Finnish Transport Agency announced a naming contest for the new icebreaker. According to the instructions, the name should preferably be a two-syllable word that would be easy to pronounce also in English. In addition, if a person's name was proposed, it should traditionally be a man's name. The winner would be invited to the launching ceremony where the name of the vessel will be published.Keksi nimi Liikenneviraston uudelle jäänmurtajalle!. Liikennevirasto. On 11 December 2015, the new icebreaker was given the name Polaris which refers to the North Star, an important navigational star for seafarers on northern seas, as well as the ice class of the vessel.