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The ordered design materials should be completed so as to make it possible to complete the tender for construction of the icebreaker by end of 2013. ”The Finnish foreign trade is fully dependent on efficient winter navigation. Our oldest icebreaker Voima is already sixty years old, and it is important that after a fifteen-year long gap we are able to renew our icebreaker fleet. Due to the new technology, our goal is to improve the level of icebreaker services and to ensure the competitiveness of our exports", says Antti Vehviläinen, Director General, Finnish Transport Agency. ”It is amazing that the future flagship of our icebreaking fleet is possible to be designed by the most experienced engineering companies of the country, Aker Arctic and ILS, which guarantees the result of high quality of the project”, says Jarkko Toivola, Winter Navigation Unit Manager. ”This new design of the Finnish icebreaker will give us a significant reference for the growing international Arctic markets and thanks to it we can show that the Finnish icebreaking technology continues having the top ranks in the world. During next summer we can assure in advance the performance capacity of the new icebreaker by means of ice model tests”, says Mikko Niini, Managing Director of Aker Arctic. ”It is important for this kind of national project that all competencies and experience can work towards a joint goal. Our emerging cooperation with Aker Arctic is inevitable to preserve the status of Finnish know-how in a growing international competition” says Jyrki Lehtonen, Managing Director of ILS Oy. The Finnish Transport Agency operates under the Ministry of Transport and Communication and promotes the efficient functioning of the traffic system of the country, takes care of transport safety as well as a balanced and sustainable development of the regions. The responsibilities of the Agency involve to maintain and develop the traffic system jointly with the other actors in the field; is in charge of state waterways and consolidate measure directed at them and, besides, manages and supervises the waterways maintenance all over the country, and is responsible for design, maintenance and construction of the waterways. The Agency also takes care of the traffic management and its development in the government’s traffic lanes and in the waterways, ensures efficient winter navigation and develops and promotes transport services and the functioning of them for the markets as well as improves the performance of transport infrastructure. www.liikennevirasto.fi Aker Arctic Technology Inc (AARC), located in Vuosaari district of Helsinki, is an independent company for marine Arctic technology development, the shareholders of which are STX Finland Oy, ABB Oy and Aker Solutions ASA. Its ice model testing facility built in 2006 is currently considered the most modern one in the world. Aker Arctic employs over 40 people and, in addition to its testing services, it develops marine and offshore technology solutions for their international customers. Among the recent references in the area are worth mentioning participation in the design of the new Canadian polar icebreaker as well as the concept design of the Polar Research Vessel for the Government of the Peoples’ Republic of China. At the moment the company is also engaged in the development of the so far largest LNG vessels for the Yamal LNG in collaboration with the Finnish Maritime Industry. www.akerarctic.fi ILS Oy is an engineering company situated in the town of Turku and specializes in the design of icebreakers and ice-on-going vessels, with a branch office in Helsinki. ILS was founded in 1988 and it presently employs 12 employees. For 25 years of project-based operation of ILS Oy such multipurpose icebreakers for Finland like Fennica, Nordica and Botnica as well as icebreakers in the Arctic Ocean for Russia, built in Singapore, as Varandey and Toboi have been projected. The concept design of an ice-class patrol ship to be built in Russia and classification drawings of the archipelago ferry and the icebreaker tug to be built for Finland at the yard of Uki Workboat Oy are now in progress. Aker Arctic Technology Inc. press release |
Today the Finnish Transport Agency signed a contract with Aker Arctic Technology Inc for the
design of the new icebreaker for the Finnish Government. Aker Arctic in cooperation with ILS Oy will
design the vessel and prepare the technical documents needed to arrange the tender for its
construction in compliance, take responsibility over the performance of the vessel, and will assist the
Transport Agency in negotiations with shipyards later this autumn.