LNG-powered icebreaker Polaris - Interview with Captain Pasi Järvelin

Aker Arctic designed its state-of-the-art icebreaker Polaris for Arctia just in time for the Finnish centennial in 2017. The vessel has proven to be a masterpiece of Finnish shipbuilding expertise.

Arctia, which is owned by the state of Finland, mainly focuses on icebreaking operations but also provides services in port icebreaking, oil spill response and the offshore sector. The company has a fleet of six conventional icebreakers, two multipurpose icebreakers, and one icebreaking harbor tug. The newest addition to Arctia’s fleet is Polaris which represents a new generation of icebreakers and utilizes latest technological solutions to be as eco-friendly as possible.

Easy maneuvers at sea

Polaris is the first icebreaker Aker Arctic has designed for Arctia. Captain Pasi Järvelin, who has a long experience with icebreakers, was also involved in the design process.

“Polaris is much better than the earlier icebreakers we’ve had. It’s proven to be a really fine piece of art”, Järvelin says with noticeable conviction.

“The maneuverability of this vessel is superb: in open water we can turn 360 degrees in one minute. Thanks to the three Azipod propellers, we can do all kinds of maneuvers so easily and very efficiently.”

An environmentally friendly vessel

Polaris is the first icebreaker in the world to run on liquefied natural gas, LNG. Thanks to its Wärtsilä dual-fuel engines, it can use either LNG or ultra low sulfur diesel. This isn’t the only reason it’s eco-friendly.

“All environmental aspects have been taken care of on Polaris. For example, we don’t throw anything into the sea. Even the greywater we collect in tanks which we then deliver ashore”, Järvelin says.

Видео LNG-powered icebreaker Polaris - Interview with Captain Pasi Järvelin канала Aker Arctic