Helsinki Shipyard gets €2b icebreaker order from Canadian govt

Canadian-owned Davie, which owns the Helsinki Shipyard, signed an agreement with the Canadian government to construct a heavy icebreaker, said the Helsinki Shipyard in a press release on Saturday.

The new vessel will be based on Davie’s advanced Polar Max icebreaker, created by the Helsinki Shipyard basing on Aker Arctic’s original Aker ARC 148 hull form.

The order is valued at about 2 billion euros or 3.25 billion Canadian dollars, local media reported, quoting Canadian news media.

Polar Max is the first newbuild project at the Helsinki Shipyard under Davie’s ownership, and it will be carried out in collaboration between Finnish and Canadian maritime industry experts.

The work will begin in Helsinki and be completed at Davie’s shipyard in Canada and the vessel is scheduled to be delivered to the Canadian government by 2030.

The unique expertise of the Helsinki Shipyard will play a significant role in delivering the vessel on such a fast schedule.

The construction of the icebreaker is expected to increase the direct workforce at the Helsinki Shipyard by around 500 employees, with many hundreds more employed throughout the Finnish maritime industry cluster.

The icebreaker order is part of Canada’s national shipbuilding program. This new order is the second heavy icebreaker project in this program.

The project is also aligned with the principles of the Icebreaker Collaboration Effort (“ICE Pact”) among Finland, the United States and Canada, which originated from President Trump’s 2020 discussions with the Finland government.

The ICE Pact supports the West’s urgent need to build advanced icebreaker fleets to counter the expansion of adversaries in the polar regions.

“When we acquired Helsinki Shipyard, we pledged to rebuild this historic business. The Polar Max project is evidence that we are delivering on our promise. We can’t wait to begin this new chapter in Helsinki Shipyard’s story. The Canadian government deserves immense credit for partnering with Davie on this groundbreaking procurement. In such a volatile world, we can and must forge shipbuilding collaborations with trusted allies like Finland to defend our shared interests,” said James Davies, President and Chief Executive Officer of Davie Shipbuilding.

“The Polar Max project is an important milestone in expanding production and design in Helsinki. The project is an excellent example of Finland’s leading Arctic shipbuilding expertise, which is in significant demand internationally,” said Kim Salmi, Chief Executive Officer of Helsinki Shipyard.

Polar Max will be 22,800 tonnes vessel with a length of 138,5 meters. Additionally, it functions as a research vessel, capable of performing oil spill response operations and emergency towing year-round. Davie continues to promote similar projects internationally and aims to accelerate the development of Finland’s maritime industry ecosystem and the creation of Finnish maritime innovations.