When ice forms on major waterways in the wintertime or in year-round cold climates, it can seize up marine traffic, not allowing boats to pass through, and often even trapping them in ice. In order to ...

In much colder parts of the world where oceans tend to freeze over, conventional vessels are essentially immobilized without the help of icebreaker ships. These vessels break, crush, and clear frozen ...

As global warming continues and sea lanes open in the Arctic, the world’s major powers are pouring money into the construction of icebreaker ships. Icebreaker ships are the unsung enablers of Arctic ...

At a shipyard in Finland last month, workers cut the first steel for a new icebreaker ship. Over the next three years, about 10,000 tons of the metal will go into the hull before the vessel is carried ...

December 17, 2025: Last year, the Ice Pact between the US, Canada and Finland led to contracts to build a lot more icebreakers. The United States is negotiating with Finland to buy 15 icebreakers.

The need for construction of specialized ships to clear the path in the ice appeared in the mid-18th century. The first ...