Saimaa. Innovative self-propelled detachable icebreaking bow.

A totally new concept of a detachable icebreaking bow, which is self-propelled and connected to a tugboat during the winter season, has been taken into use in Lake Saimaa, Finland’s largest freshwater lake, and the Saimaa Canal. The detachable bow brings more efficient icebreaking and ice management operations to the area. The concept was developed by ILS Oy for the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency. Aker Arctic designed and delivered the two shaft lines and propellers for the bow, two bronze propellers for the tug and the Ice Load Monitoring System, which can be supervised remotely, as well as performing the ice model tests to verify the design before construction. Length: 25.3 m | Beam: 12.6 m