Helsinki Shipyard Wins Contract to Build Finland's Next Icebreaker, Aino
Key Takeaways
- •The new vessel Aino, designed by Railotech, will measure 96 metres in length, be built to B+ class, deliver 10.5 MW of propulsion power, and open a 25-metre-wide channel through ice.
- •Construction begins in 2027, with Sata Shipbuilding in Pori handling steel production and block fabrication and Helsinki Shipyard performing assembly and delivery, targeted for September 2029.
- •The project has secured €42m from the EU's Connecting Europe Facility transport programme, the largest CEF transport grant awarded to Finland, though no contract value was disclosed.
- •Aino will replace Voima, a 1954-built ship that is Finland's only B-class icebreaker and the world's oldest icebreaker still in active service, which will have served 75 years by the scheduled delivery date.
- •The order adds to Helsinki Shipyard's growing icebreaker workload, which spans Finnish, Canadian and US government programmes, including Canada's Polar Max and two Arctic Security Cutters under Davie Defense's $3.5bn five-vessel programme.
Helsinki Shipyard has won the contract to build Finland's next icebreaker, as the country begins renewing its ageing winter navigation fleet. The new vessel will replace the nation's 1954-built icebreaker.
DNY Finland, the company behind Helsinki Shipyard, will start construction in 2027, with completion targeted for September 2029. Steel production and block fabrication will be handled by affiliate Sata Shipbuilding in Pori on Finland's west coast, while assembly and delivery will take place in Helsinki.
The ship, to be named Aino, will measure 96 m in length and 24 m in width and be built to B+ class. It will have 10.5 MW of propulsion power and be capable of opening a 25 m-wide channel through ice. Railotech designed the vessel with two conventional shaft lines and rudders aft, along with an azimuthing propulsion unit in the bow — a configuration selected following model testing.
No contract value was disclosed. The project has secured €42m in funding from the EU's Connecting Europe Facility transport programme, which the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency said is the largest CEF transport grant awarded to Finland.
Aino will take over from Voima, Finland's sole B-class icebreaker and the world's oldest icebreaker still in active service. By the scheduled delivery in September 2029, Voima will have been in service for 75 years. The new vessel will primarily assist commercial shipping serving Finnish ports during the winter season, when the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland freeze over and the bulk of Finland's foreign trade, which moves by sea, depends on icebreaker escort to keep ports open.
The order adds to a growing icebreaker workload at the Helsinki yard, whose order book now spans Finnish, Canadian and US government programmes. It is currently assembling the hull of Canada's Polar Max icebreaker and, together with Sata Shipbuilding, has started work on the first of two Arctic Security Cutters it will build in Finland for the US Coast Guard. The two ships form part of Davie Defense's $3.5bn five-vessel programme, with the first unit due in 2028.
