Author(s)

T. Nyman, J. Rytkonen & J. Laasonen

Abstract

The economic well being of Finland is depending essentially on the maritime traffic. Finland's location in the Northern Hemisphere, in the end of the Baltic Sea equals the situation of an island: the shortest and cheapest way to transport goods to the markets is usually the seaway. But due to the northern and sub- arctic location sea areas surrounding the coastline tend to freeze every year. Part of the ports are surrounded by ice six months of the year. The prerequisite for effective transport and the economics is to keep the maritime traffic running year round, thus there must be certain solutions developed for the winter-time. One of the most common examples of these ice control methods is the use of ice breakers, which assist the merchant ships through the ice fields. The use of the g

Keywords