guess when they were built in the 40’s they were !! Still love the lines of those ships - I was on Glacier but was kind of hoping to get on one of the wind class boats before they were retired.
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Did you do any trips to McMurdo?
yea - deep freeze 80 - I was there for that picture actually.
I was out of the scene then last trip 1967 in HMNZS ENDEAVOUR ex NAMAKOGAN.
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I could put this under “cruise ships”, but considering that the ship broke 2.7 m (almost 9 ft) thick ice during the full-scale ice trials, perhaps we can call Le Commandant Charcot an icebreaker 
The “icebreaker add-on” was also tested and found to be nudging 5 knots in 60 cm (almost 24") solid ice:
Maybe VT Halter Marine should throw in a bid??
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Rosmorport has been looking for a builder for the second Project 21900M2 (or seventh Project 21900 family) icebreaker for almost a year. After several tenders where no-one submitted bids because the contract price was too low, they awarded the contract to a small shipyard located far inland along the Volga river. However, the government intervened when they found out that the construction would likely be subcontracted to a Chinese shipyard. Now the tender is open again. I wonder when they’ll just order one of the more capable domestic shipyards like Vyborg to submit a big. Of course, Helsinki could also build it as they built one of the preceding Project 21900M icebreakers:
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There’s one icebreaker for this class under construction in Germany but the shipyard went bankrupt and there has been some serious talk about cancelling the contract and scrapping whatever they have managed to build so far on the slipway…
Fun fact: The 2016-built Murmansk was not the first icebreaker named after the city of 50 shades of grey; the first was a Moskva-class diesel-electric polar icebreaker built at Wärtsilä in the early 1960s. Later the ship came for a visit with a very special crew member…
They even took it for a walk in downtown Helsinki:
Artist’s impression of the new Swedish icebreakers:
https://sjofartsverket.se/sv/om-oss/nyheter-och-press/nyheter/har-ar-sveriges-nya-isbrytare/
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Probably doesn’t meet all requirements to be called an Icebreaker, but an interesting concept never the less:
PS> Watch the video of the launch at the bottom of the article.
It’s an icebreaking offshore vessel. The bow geometry is quite extreme.
Icebreaker heading home for the upcoming winter season:
The BOTNICA passing Helsingborg / Helsingør
Photo: Per Körnefeldt ©
China is making their presents felt in the Arctic:
She is finally on her way on her maiden trip to Antarctica:
The more the merrier:
Value for money:
Conclusion:
The number one consideration in a hull coating for ice-going vessels and icebreakers is the ability of the coating to protect the hull in the harshest marine environment there is. Ecospeed will hold up and will not be damaged in the ice and so will remain smooth for the life of the vessel. Even if minor repairs are needed in drydock, the original quality of the coating remains intact. N/R Laura Bassi is a great example of this.
China is planning a third Icebreaker:
What is the Chinese planning to do with it’s new icebreaker?:
Ice breaking cargo ship in action:
No the video is not being played backwards.
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Second nuclear icebreaker delivered in short time: