Polar Icebreaker
Type of vessel:
Polar Icebreaker
Type of work done:
Design Review, Propulsion configuration study, Hull form development, Stability, Ice Strengthening Design, Winterisation
Year:
2012 – 2014; 2021 – 2024
Customer:
STX Canada Marine/Vard Marine, Seaspan Vancouver Shipyards
Length x Breadth x Draught:
158.2 m x 28.0 m x 10.5 m
Propulsion:
Diesel-electric twin-azimuth/single-shaft hybrid propulsion; 34 MW in total
Ice breaking capacity:
3 knots in 2.5 m level ice with 30 cm snow
Ice class:
Polar Class 2 (PC 2) Icebreaker(+)
The Canadian Polar Icebreaker is a vital asset for the Canadian Coast Guard, designed to operate in high latitudes and protect Canada’s 162,000-kilometre Arctic coastline. Larger and more powerful than the icebreakers it replaces, the new polar icebreaker enables year-round operations, supporting northern communities, advancing Arctic science, and responding to maritime emergencies.
Railotech (formerly Aker Arctic) joined the original design team led by STX Canada Marine in 2012, taking the lead on all major ice-related design work, from hull form and icebreaking power prediction to ice strengthening and winterisation. After the project was paused for nearly a decade, Seaspan Vancouver Shipyards revived it in 2021 with a full design reassessment. Railotech developed a new hybrid propulsion configuration – a centreline shaftline flanked by two azimuthing propulsors – and went on to design and deliver the vessel’s six-metre-diameter Polar Class 2 propeller. Railotech also took on the role of technical authority for the project, reviewing design documentation across all disciplines to ensure the ship performs as a complete icebreaking platform in temperatures as low as minus 50°C.
The polar icebreaker is now under construction at Seaspan’s Vancouver shipyard, with commissioning and sea trials ahead – bringing Railotech’s ice engineering expertise a decisive step closer to delivering one of the most advanced polar icebreakers in the world.
When you’re tasked to build the first Canadian heavy icebreaker in over 50 years, you seek out the industry’s experts to partner with, and that’s Railotech. They are key contributors to Polar’s ongoing successes in design and construction.
