Busting myths about icebreakers

The results of a cursory Google search on icebreakers in the Arctic leave the impression that these titanic vessels are little more than tools in a vast geopolitical game, conceived of to help polar countries stake out their territorial waters and reinforce defence capabilities. But the reality is far more varied, complex, and ultimately benign.

Designed to navigate across ice-covered waters, icebreakers are primarily used, as their name suggests, to break ice and subsequently escort other vessels through bodies of water that would otherwise be inaccessible. In doing so, icebreakers facilitate everything from the supply of vital resources to remote communities to scientific research to commercial shipping.

What is more, contrary to popular assumptions, icebreaker ownership is not limited to countries with direct access to Arctic or Antarctic waters – numerous countries located far from the Earth’s poles, from Azerbaijan to Italy to South Africa, own and deploy icebreakers for a wide range of reasons.

Below we seek to break some of the myths and misunderstandings surrounding these sea giants.

Myth #1 Icebreakers are a recent invention

Icebreakers may seem like a modern invention, but the practice of using boats to break ice dates back to the 11th century, when Pomors – a group of Karelian and Russian settlers living on the shores of the White Sea – developed small one- or two-mast wooden sailing ships called kochi, whose hull was protected by ice-resistant planking at the waterline and whose rounded body would push the ship onto the ice if the vessel ever found itself squeezed between floes.

During the Little Ice Age – a period of cooling in Europe and North America between the fourteenth and nineteenth centuries – the freezing of Dutch and Belgian rivers in winter became an obstacle to shipping and, therefore, to economic development. This inconvenient reality required mitigation. Historians have found, for example, that, in the fourteenth century, labourers systematically removed ice from the large moat surrounding the strategic Flemish town of Bruges to open access to surrounding canals. There is no evidence that this procedure involved boats for much of the century. But, in January-February 1383, a boat was used to break the ice for the very first time. Built by the shipbuilder Jan Soyen, this boat is considered the first preindustrial icebreaker.

The industrial revolution brought icebreakers to a new stage of development. The company Van Dusen & Birely commissioned the steam-powered icebreaker City Ice Boat No. 1 in 1837 to navigate the frozen waters of the Delaware River in Philadelphia. Less than three decades later, in 1864, the Russian shipbuilder Mikhail Britnev created Pilot, the first metal-hull icebreaker.

After that, icebreakers transitioned to diesel fuel and then to diesel-electric power. Nuclear-powered icebreakers appeared in the mid-twentieth century.

Myth #2 Icebreakers are only for polar countries and only for use at the poles

On 15 December 2022, U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar from Minnesota announced that the National Defense Authorization Act included her provisions “paving the way for the Port of Duluth to receive a second icebreaker.” The bill authorises up to $350 million to be spent on the acquisition of another Great Lakes icebreaker, proving, just like the historic examples above, that icebreaker use is not restricted to the polar regions. And even at the poles, icebreaker use is not limited to countries with direct access to the Arctic or Antarctica.

Today, many countries interested in logistics or scientific research in unique polar ecosystems have icebreakers or even icebreaker fleets. The countries with the largest icebreaker fleets are those with direct access to the Arctic, amongst them Russia (in first place, with 40+ icebreakers), the United States (2 icebreakers), Canada (21 icebreakers), Finland (7 icebreakers), Sweden (7 icebreakers), and Denmark. Many of these icebreakers run on diesel.

Some of the non-polar countries that have icebreakers are surprisingly located closer to the equator than they are to any poles. Argentina, Australia, Chile, Italy, Japan, Spain, South Africa, and South Korea all have icebreakers. Countries in the southern hemisphere largely use them to conduct scientific research in Antarctica, which is considered one of the world’s most untouched laboratories. Ongoing research in Antarctica seeks to offer insight into global climate change, rising sea levels, sea ice variability, and ozone concentrations in the atmosphere, amongst other questions.

In March 2022, the remains of the ship Endurance, which sank back in 1915 while making an unsuccessful journey to Antarctica, were discovered at a depth of 3,000 metres off the coast of West Antarctica in the Weddell Sea. This discovery was made thanks to the South African-owned SA Agulhas II icebreaker. In operation since 2012, the vessel is equipped with eight permanent scientific laboratories and accommodates scientists from a number of disciplines, amongst them oceanographers and marine biologists. This vessel has made at least five trips between Cape Town and Antarctica, facilitating expeditions which provided data on changes in the Southern Ocean. The ship’s success completely shatters the myth that icebreakers are only for countries with direct access to the poles.

Myth #3 Icebreakers are nothing more than heavy ships

Though icebreakers may resemble ordinary ships, this resemblance is superficial, as they feature a much more complex engineering design. Their main distinguishing feature is the thickness and shape of the hull – not only are many icebreakers double-hulled for guaranteed watertightness in the event of damage, but a special polymer coating on the body also serves to minimise friction.

A rounded bow allows for more efficient icebreaking and helps lift the vessel up under pressure from ice. Broken ice is also directed under the icebreaker through air and water systems. These and other measures prevent broken ice from building up around the front of the ship and, therefore, from slowing it down. It is also important to stress that icebreakers traverse ice-laden waters by breaking ice, not by melting it. The common misconception that icebreakers contribute to “global warming” by melting ice could, therefore, not be further from the truth.

Some modern icebreakers also have innovative energy profiles. One of the most important requirements for an icebreaker is reliability. Reliability is, in turn, made possible by a powerful engine and endurance. The most reliable icebreakers are nuclear-powered, as they do not require refueling and can operate for long periods of time. Nuclear-powered icebreakers are also far more environmentally friendly then diesel-fueled ones, as they have no carbon dioxide emissions and carry no risks of oil spills. Today, Russia is the only country that owns and operates a fleet of nuclear-powered icebreakers; this fleet is instrumental for the development of the Northern Sea Route (NSR), which would otherwise be impossible. The country is working to expand this fleet with new universal models that will be able to operate both in seas and in estuaries with a simple change of equipment. It is also developing the world’s most powerful icebreaker (project 10510), which will be able to break through four-metre-thick ice.

Myth #4 Icebreakers are a “boys only” club

Finally, there is a myth that icebreakers have always been a male prerogative, but this is not true either. In July 2021, The Icebreaker Mackinaw Maritime Museum held an exhibition that honoured the 100+ women from Toledo, Ohio who built the USCGC Mackinaw 80 years previously during World War II, when male workers were scarce. The exhibition also honours the women who subsequently served on the icebreaker. Known as the Queen of the Great Lakes, the 88-metre vessel was launched, reads the Museum’s website, “to meet the heavy demands of war materials and transportation during the winter months.” Though the USCGC Mackinaw is no longer in operation, other American icebreakers, such as the Polar Star, also employ women.

Not only have women been involved in building icebreakers and serving on them across the world, they have also had leadership positions aboard. Though just a little over 30 years old, Diana Chidzhi, for instance, is an assistant captain of Russia’s nuclear icebreaker 50 Let Pobedy, and the very first woman to hold such a position.

Icebreakers today and tomorrow

Icebreakers help improve people’s quality of life by making it possible to deliver food and supplies to hard-to-reach regions. They also keep trade routes open during the seasonal or permanent freezing of seas. Most merchant ships are incapable of breaking through ice, which is why icebreakers escort ships through ice-filled waters across the world, from the Baltic Sea to the Great Lakes. Icebreakers are also used for search and rescue operations, polar research, exploration projects, and much more. Accordingly, there are many icebreaker projects currently in development.

Many countries integrate icebreaker construction plans into their Arctic Policies or strategic investment bills. The US Coast Guard Program, for instance, envisions the acquisition of three new heavy polar icebreakers and three new medium polar icebreakers over the coming years. China is currently building its third icebreaker for use in rescue missions along its Polar Silk Road and broader One Belt, One Road initiative. China also intends to build a nuclear-powered icebreaker equipped with two 25 MW reactors.

Chile launched its new diesel-electric icebreaker Almirante Viel on 22 December 2022 to replace a previous icebreaker, Almirante Óscar Viel, which had been in operation for 25 years and was decommissioned in 2019. The new icebreaker is the world’s first to be built at a Latin American shipyard – a matter of great economic importance to the region, as many icebreakers are built in Nordic countries. The vessel, which will be used largely for scientific research in Antarctica, supplying bases, maritime surveillance, and search and rescue operations, is equipped with a helipad, which will greatly expand the type of work it can engage in.

Conclusions

The history of icebreakers spans a thousand years, and their endurance speaks volumes about their importance for supplying basic goods to people, navigation, trade, economic development, and research, not just for Arctic countries, but across the world.

These vessels have undergone significant changes over the centuries, and what used to be tiny boats are today titans. The Russian icebreakers Arktika, for instance, can break through ice that is three metres thick. Its length of 170 metres is about the length of 100 average-sized trucks, and its width of 34 metres can be compared to the length of a blue whale, which averages 33 metres; its height of 60 metres rivals the height of a 16-storey building; and its area of 5,780 square meters is not far off from the area of a football field (7,140 square metres). Finally, comprised of two 175 MW RITM-200 nuclear reactors, its engine has enough capacity to supply electricity to a city of 2 million people.

Nuclear-powered icebreakers are able to perform the same duties as diesel-powered icebreakers, but without a negative environmental impact. What is more, mankind’s experience operating nuclear-powered icebreakers is inspiring the development of other useful floating nuclear-powered structures, as well as the use of this same technology to operate small nuclear power plants.