The ''Atle'' class comprises five icebreakers built for the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

and

Finnish Transport Agency The Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency ( fi, Väylävirasto, sv, Trafikledsverket), shortened to FTIA, is a Finnish government agency responsible for the maintenance of Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Rep ...

. The two Finnish ships, ''Urho'' and ''Sisu'', are sometimes considered a separate class, but all are operationally identical. The ships were built by

Wärtsilä Wärtsilä Oyj Abp (), trading internationally as Wärtsilä Corporation, is a Finnish company which manufactures and services power sources and other equipment in the marine and energy markets. The core products of Wärtsilä include technol ...

Helsinki Shipyard Helsinki Shipyard Oy is a Finnish shipbuilding company based at Hietalahti shipyard in Helsinki, Finland. The company was established in 2019 to continue the shipbuilding activities of Arctech Helsinki Shipyard in Finland. History Helsinki S ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

and entered service in the mid to late 1970s. The maneuvering system, incorporating dual

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally aircraft, air or watercraft, water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to ...

s and dual

bow propeller Bow often refers to: * Bow and arrow, a weapon * Bowing, bending the upper body as a social gesture * An ornamental knot made of ribbon Bow may also refer to: * Bow (watercraft), the foremost part of a ship or boat * Bow (position), the rowe ...

s, represented significant technical innovation. They are also notable for their high level of crew comfort (for their time), to a point where ''Urho'' has served the Finnish government as a

VIP A very important person or personage (VIP or V.I.P.) is a person who is accorded special privileges due to their high social status, influence or importance. The term was not common until sometime after World War 2 by RAF pilots. Examples inc ...

transport.

Ships

* ''Atle'', Sweden, commissioned 1974 * ''Urho'', Finland, commissioned 1975 * ''Frej'', Sweden, commissioned 1975 * ''Sisu'', Finland, commissioned 1976 * ''Ymer'', Sweden, commissioned 1977

External links

* {{commonscat-inline, Atle class icebreaker Icebreakers of Finland Icebreakers of Sweden Auxiliary icebreaker classes