Arctia’s converted polar icebreaker Otso departed the icebreaker base in Helsinki as the Finnish icbreaking season’s second icebreaker on Tuesday 9 February 2018. Arctia says the vessel headed towards its initial operation area, the fairways to Tornio, Kemi, Oulu and Raahe. Icebreaker Kontio, that departed on 18 December 2017, already assists in the area.
“New ice is forming in the Bothnian Bay. The season is predicted to be like last year, fairly mild, but it will most likely still be challenging from the assistance point of view. The jammed brash barriers that form on the edge of fast ice will cause problems to most vessels in the area”, exlains Seppo Eva, Master of IB Otso.
Arctia Ltd. is a limited company that owns and operates a fleet of eight icebreakers. The company’s line of business is the provision of icebreaking services, ice management and specialised multipurpose vessel services, along with the management and chartering of ships in Finland and abroad. In July 2017 Arctia’s multipurpose icebreaker Nordica crossed the Northwest Passage (NWP) for the second time. The vessel currently holds the records for both the earliest and the latest season transits of the NWP.
Arctia Ltd. continues the 140-year-old Finnish icebreaking tradition by deploying one of the strongest icebreaker fleets in the world. In Finland, icebreaking services are financed through a market-driven system based on fairway dues. During Arctic summer when the fleet is not required in the Baltic Sea, Finnish icebreakers are available for charter missions in polar areas.