The current icebreaker fleet is worn out and money for a new ship must arrive quickly according to the Swedish Maritime Administration.
- They live on borrowed time and there is a risk of accidents.
And in order to have time to build new ships, the financing must be completed by the spring of 2022, says Jonas Franzén, communications strategist at the Swedish Maritime Administration.
Just over a billion for a new ship - lower price than expected
Together with the Finnish equivalent of the Swedish Maritime Administration, they are working on producing drawings for new icebreakers.
Recently, an interim report came out in the project which shows that ships can be cheaper - less than half of what was previously calculated.
- The price for the vessels could end up as low as SEK 1.4 billion each.
And the advantage of these is, among other things, that the construction means that you can have different widths on the ice gutters you break, from today's 24 meters to 32, says Jonas Franzén.
The government has submitted a proposal - awaiting the Riksdag
Minister of Infrastructure Tomas Eneroth (S) has not been able to appear for an interview at short notice.
Instead, the Ministry of Infrastructure sends a written response via e-mail:
“The government has now presented the infrastructure bill, which sets out the financial framework and direction for the infrastructure investments.
After the Riksdag has decided on the financial framework, work continues on the so-called action planning.
It means that the measures that should be prioritized in the national plan are identified.
A decision on a new national plan is planned for 2022. "