Finland is a country where the harbours and fairways leading to them freeze over every year. That is why the strongest icebreakers in the world are also in Finland. This year the icebreakers' winter started unusually quietly.

"The 2007 winter started mild. The first icebreaker didn't leave for the northern part of the Gulf of Bothnia until the middle of January. On average, the icebreaking season starts at the end of November in Finland," says Atso Uusiaho, who is responsible for icebreaking services at Fintaship.

"According to statistics, there has not been for at least twenty years a situation where icebreakers were not at work before the end of the year. The situation is unusual."

The extent of the annual ice cover and the general conditions vary from year to year on the Baltic Sea. Depending on the ice conditions, the amount of work expended on icebreaking varies annually from 500 to 1,100 operational days. When the ice cover is at its most extensive, the ships are working 24 hours a day.

Icebreaker wins

The present form of icebreaking was started along the Finnish coast in 1890. Finstaship, which specializes in icebreaking and fairway services, continues the traditions with one of the world's strongest icebreaking fleets, which consists of three multipurpose icebreakers and five conventional icebreakers.

"All the icebreakers have been built for conditions in the Baltic Sea. They can operate in all kinds of ice conditions," Uusiaho asserts.

Finstaship's task is to ensure that winter navigation functions even in harsh icy conditions. Icebreakers assist commercial vessels by opening up fairways, towing and breaking ships free and by ensuring in general the safety of winter traffic.

Also working in the summer

Regular and reliable maritime traffic is a prerequisite for business life in all conditions. "Shipping has increased by some 80 per cent in twenty years. Winter traffic has also increased at almost the same rate," Uusiaho says.

In 2005 Finland's international transport amounted to about 90 million tonnes. Some 40 per cent of this took place in the winter.

Although multipurpose icebreakers concentrate on icebreaking in the winter, they have also been designed for summer work. The vessels work all round the year, for example, at oilfields, when they are not needed for icebreaking. Outside the icebreaking season the icebreakers can be hired for corporate entertaining.

>> www.finstaship.fi

The multipurpose icebreaker Botnica operates outside the icebreaking season in areas such as the Gulf of Mexico.