Finland’s Aino Icebreaker to Be Built by Helsinki Shipyard

Helsinki Shipyard has been selected to build Finland’s new icebreaker called Aino. The procurement by the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency marks the beginning of a new generation of Finland’s icebreaker fleet.

Construction of the Aino icebreaker will begin next year and is scheduled for completion in 2029. The new vessel will safeguard Finland’s year-round maritime traffic in the Baltic Sea.

Helsinki Shipyard will be responsible for the overall shipyard delivery and assembly of Aino working closely with its affiliate Sata Shipbuilding in Pori. Sata Shipbuilding will be responsible for steel production and block fabrication.

Aino is a B+ class icebreaker capable of opening a 25-meter ice channel. It is 96 meters long and 24 meters wide. Equipped with 10.5 megawatts of propulsion power, Aino combines powerful icebreaking capability, excellent open-water performance and controlled life-cycle costs. Its performance is based on a modern hull design and a propulsion configuration consisting of straight shaft lines and a bow-mounted azimuthing thruster.

Helsinki Shipyard has an exceptionally long history of designing and building icebreakers. Every icebreaker built in Finland in the past 25 years, as well as around half of the icebreakers currently in operation worldwide, were built in Helsinki. The shipyard also built Voima, which Aino will replace, which has been serving Finland with distinction since 1954.

Helsinki and Pori shipyards are part of Inocea, an international maritime industrial group with operations in Finland, Canada and the United States. Together, the Finnish facilities form an integrated shipbuilding platform covering the entire value chain, from design and steel fabrication to vessel assembly and delivery.