Old icebreakers need to be replaced - failure has major consequences

Three of the Swedish Maritime Administration's five icebreakers were built in the 1970s and have more than 40 years on their necks. This means that there is no longer any production of spare parts for these boats. 

- When we get an accident, we can not only cook, but then we can look for parts, manufacture and rebuild. A bigger one therefore makes the boat stay in place for a couple of weeks and in the worst case even longer, says Anders Dahl, head of ice breaking.

At Luleå harbor, more than eight million tonnes of goods are sold each year. Among other things, the port is the shipping port for LKAB's products. 

- We are sensitive at present. In a harsh winter, all icebreaker resources are needed. Both the Swedish and the Finnish, says Henrik Vuorinen, CEO of Luleå harbor.

The design of the new icebreakers will be procured this fall. These are boats that should be both more environmentally friendly and at the same time be able to break much wider pits in the ice than the old boats. The latter because the cargo vessels are becoming larger, for environmental reasons.

What is then needed is a financing decision by the government to be able to order the boats. The hope is that that decision will come as soon as possible.

- There is a train now in December 2020, but we have understood that it is not relevant because of the corona crisis and much else. So now we hope for December 2021. Then it will still take two to three years before we can have the boats in place, says Anders Dahl, head of the icebreaking at the Swedish Maritime Administration.