In this decade, a new generation of green icebreakers will be built for Baltic Sea operations, and fossil-free fuels will be used by 2030.
The Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency (FTIA) and the Swedish Maritime Administration (SMA) set requirements for new icebreakers used to escort large ships.
They need stronger and larger ships because merchant ships entering Finnish and Swedish ports are increasing in size and increasing environmental requirements gradually limit the engine power of these ships.
Swedish industry needs ice breaking in the Baltic sea 4 months a year to keep key ports open, Swedish Maritime Authority said. Our current icebreakers are old and increasingly in need of repair. Therefore, we look forward to the design of the next generation icebreakers that will serve larger ships using fossil fuels, he said.
The Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency said it is important for the country to keep Finnish ports open and docking of larger ships. “Our foreign trade and competitiveness are based on supply security throughout the year,” he said.
Adequate assistance from icebreakers is a prerequisite for Finland to ensure that raw materials and different products are in the right place at the right time.
Ice breakers designed for the Baltic sea are planned to have the capacity to reach the North Pole. The maritime industry’s goals are to reduce emissions by 50% by 2050. We can see that all newly designed ships are designed for this goal.
