Voima

Finland is preparing to retire the “Voima”, the oldest ocebreaker in the world still in service, after approving plans to replace it with a newly built, conventionally powered vessel that will operate in the harsh winter conditions of the Baltic Sea. The 'Voima', built at the Wärtsilä shipyard and commissioned in Feb 1954, was modernized between 1978 and 1979 and was the first icebreaker built in Finland after World War II. It will be replaced by a new icebreaker, for which the tender process is now underway, marking a significant step in the modernization of Finland's state-owned icebreaker fleet.

Arctia says its icebreaker Voima set out from Katajanokka, Helsinki, on Wednesday, 15 February 2017, at 12.00 noon, for icebreaking duty in the Eastern Gulf of Finland. Although the ice winter has been mild in the South of Finland, the aim is to ensure smooth navigation in the Eastern Gulf of Finland, where brash ice barriers may form at the ice edge. This makes it difficult for weaker vessels to navigate.