Arctia's icebreaker Kontio will depart from Katajanokka, Helsinki, on Thursday, December 19th, 2024, as the first icebreaker for this winter. Kontio will head to the Bothnian Bay to the Tornio, Kemi and Oulu areas, where the icebreaker will arrive on Saturday, December 21st.

Icebreakers operate in the coastal areas of Finland, ensuring winter navigation, which is important for Finnish industry, as approximately 96 % of Finnish exports and imports travel by sea. "Kontio crew is excited to embark on the new icebreaking season and ensure the safe and smooth navigation of merchant ships to Finnish ports," says Veli Luukkala, Master of the icebreaker Kontio.

24/7 work in the Bay of Bothnia

The icebreaker has a crew of 20 members, and the ship operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The working cycle of the crew is 20 days, followed by ten days off. When the icebreaker Kontio heads towards the Bay of Bothnia, the tanks are filled with 1.1 million liters of low-sulfur diesel fuel, 220 000 liters of water and food supplies for 10 days.

The new icebreaking season will start at the usual time

The icebreaking season starts at the usual time this year. Last year, the season started earlier than normal and Kontio headed to the Bothnian Bay on November 23rd. Arctia icebreakers operated in total 921 operating days during the last season. Assistance was provided 2,067 times and up to 20 % of the ships, 422, had to be towed. The total mileage accumulated during the season was 78,635 nm. The variation between the winters is wide, and in May we will see how the icebreaking season developed.

For more information: Paavo Kojonen, SVP Icebreaking, +358 50 458 4391, paavo.kojonen@arctia.fi