Arctia says its icebreakers assisted navigation in the Baltic Sea for a total of 447 icebreaking days in 2017. The service needs of our customers in the international market changed in 2017 when new restrictive measures were placed on offshore energy production in North America. Turnover fell on the previous year, and unfortunately the financial results were negative after five positive financial years. However, we successfully opened new market areas in accordance with the strategy by serving customers in the Pacific Ocean.
Ice winter 2016–2017 was mild as was the previous winter, but it was by no means easy. There was plenty of work for the icebreakers especially in the challenging conditions of the Bay of Bothnia. During the season, merchant vessels were assisted by Otso, Kontio, Polaris and Sisu in the Bay of Bothnia and by Voima in the Gulf of Finland. In 2017, there were a total of 447 operating days in icebreaking. The number of operating days in offshore tasks totalled 65 (61 in 2016).
Arctia’s turnover in 2017 amounted to EUR 48.9 million (EUR 60.7 in the previous year). Operating profit stood at EUR 0.1 million (EUR 12.9 million) and the result of the financial year was EUR -1.4 million (EUR 9.1 million). At the end of the year, the company had a total of 268 employees (265), 237 of whom were seagoing personnel (233).
The Group’s gross investments in 2017 totalled EUR 5.7 million (EUR 131.6 million), with maintenance investments representing EUR 5.2 million (EUR 3.5 million) of the total. The high gross investments in the comparison year were especially due to the acquisition of the icebreaker Polaris. The most significant investments in 2017 were the docking of the icebreaker Kontio and the docking and life span extension of the multipurpose icebreaker Fennica, as well as the renovation of the crane of the multipurpose icebreaker Nordica.
Designed and built in Finland, the world’s first LNG icebreaker Polaris started its icebreaking tasks in the Baltic Sea in the centenary year of Finland’s independence in January 2017. The first season of the most efficient icebreaker of our fleet was full of activity. Arctia has promoted switching to increasingly cleaner fuels in shipping by being one of the first shipowners in the world to introduce Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) as fuel and by operating the world’s first and currently the only LNG icebreaker Polaris.
After a successful international chartering operation, Nordica sailed home via the Northwest Passage and two Arctic conferences. The vessel now holds the records for the earliest and the latest navigation through the Northwest Passage. Arctia supported the prominence of Finland and Finnish expertise by sending the Nordica to Reykjavik after the Arctic 100 Expedition. Several high-level meetings, debates and dinners, as well as guided tours of the icebreaker open to all were held on board Nordica. The icebreaker as a conference venue was Arctia’s gift to the 100-year-old Finland.
In 2017, Arctia Karhu’s harbour icebreaker Ahto assisted ships in the Röyttä harbour in Tornio and the harbour icebreaker Jääsalo provided assistance to ships in Ajos in Kemi. During the year, the new-generation harbour icebreaker Ahto carried out nine escort tug assistances in the port of Luleå in accordance with the agreement signed with the port in 2016. LNG was delivered for the first time by ship to the LNG import terminal in Röyttä in Tornio in November 2017. The first LNG tanker arrived in the largest liquefied natural gas terminal in the Nordic countries assisted by Arctia Karhu’s vessels.
In March 2017, Arctia organised an ice management and oil recovery seminar in Porvoo in cooperation with Lamor. The results of the successful three-year IMOR project (Ice Management & Oil Recovery) were presented at the seminar. The objective of the project was to develop oil recovery operations in ice conditions.