Kontio (icebreaker)

''Kontio'' is a Finnish state-owned icebreaker. Built by Wärtsilä Helsinki shipyard in 1987 as a replacement for the aging ''Karhu''-class icebreakers, she and her sister ship ''Otso'' were the first Finnish post-war icebreaker to be built without bow propellers.

In addition to icebreaker duties, ''Kontio'' was fitted for oil spill response by the European Maritime Safety Agency between 2010 and 2016.

Development and construction

In the early 1980s, the Finnish National Board of Navigation began looking for a replacement for the aging ''Karhu''-class icebreakers ''Karhu'', ''Murtaja'' and ''Sampo'' which had been built in the late 1950s and were no longer wide enough to escort modern merchant ships.Karhu II - A new-generation icebreaker. Shipping World & Shipbuilder, October 1985. Furthermore, the old icebreakers were expensive to operate and, despite their small size, required a relatively large crew of 53.Kaukiainen (1992), page 330. The development of the new class of icebreakers, dubbed ''Karhu II'' in the preliminary papers, intensified when Wärtsilä opened a new ice model test facility in 1983. The first new icebreaker, ''Otso'', was ordered from Wärtsilä Helsinki shipyard on 19 March 1984 with a price of FIM 235 million and commissioned in January 1986. The second ship, identical to the first one, was ordered in December 1985 and delivered to the owners on 29 January 1987. Her name, ''Kontio'', is one of the many epithets for bear in the Finnish language. Afterwards, the three ''Karhu'' class icebreakers were decommissioned and sold.

In terms of performance, ''Kontio'' is identical to her sister ship ''Otso''. During extensive ice trials in the Bothnian Bay in March 1986, ''Otso'' was put through a series of test to determine her icebreaking capability. In a race against the 1975-built '' Urho'' in level ice, ''Otso'' beat the older but more powerful four-propelled icebreaker by a ship's length,Turunen (2011), pages 37–39. showing that in terms of ice resistance the new icebreaker was superior to her predecessor. In ice, she could easily maintain a speed of and small ice ridges along the way appeared to be of no consequence to the vessel. However, the strength of the new icebreaker was put to the ultimate test when she encountered a large pressure ridge reaching all the way to the seafloor some below the surface. After preparations, ''Otso'' was accelerated to a speed of and rammed into the ridge at full power. Since the new icebreaker had a smooth inclined stem and lacked the bow propellers of her predecessors, she rode up the ridge and began listing to the port side as the hull rose from the water. After coming to a stop, ''Otso'' slid back by herself without utilizing the engines, and the ridge was penetrated on the second charge. The robustness of the ship and its propulsion system were further proven when the icebreaker was backed into a ridge at "to prove to the customer it doesn't break".Icebreakers!
Popular Mechanics, February 1989.

Technical details

General characteristics

Although the ''Kontio'' is slightly shorter than her predecessors ''Urho'' and ''Sisu'', she is slightly wider and was, at the time of her delivery, the widest subarctic icebreaker in the world with a beam of . However, with a maximum draft of and a minimum operating draft of only , ''Kontio'' is able to escort ships to shallower ports than her predecessors.Telakoiden vaikein vuosi menossa. Navigator 6/1986. The displacement of the icebreaker is 9,130 tons.

In many ways, ''Otso'' and ''Kontio'' were a significant departure from the traditional Finnish icebreaker design. The extended bridge wings on top of the stylish superstructure feature full-depth all-round windows that provide almost 360 degree visibility from the main steering position, which has been moved to the starboard bridge wing from the centerline. Furthermore, the traditional colours dating back to the Imperial Russian era, yellow and black, were replaced with the colors of the flag of Finland, blue and white. Due to the extensive use of advanced automation, which allowed everything ranging from starting and stopping the main engines to raising and lowering the flag to be done remotely from the bridge, ''Otso'' and ''Kontio'' had the smallest crew among Finnish state-owned icebreakers when she entered service in 1986. Later her crew has been further reduced to 20. ''Kontio'' was also the first icebreaker in which the lifeboats, unusable in ice-infested waters, were replaced with inflatable life rafts that could be lowered on the ice. However, lifeboats were fitted when the icebreaker was equipped for oil spill response.

While ''Kontio'' holds the highest Finnish-Swedish ice class, 1A Super, it has hardly any meaning for icebreakers which are of considerably stronger build than merchant ships operating in their care. Coated with low-friction Inerta160 epoxy paint, the hull plating has thickness of over in the bow and the waterline is protected by an explosion welded stainless steel compound plating that further reduces ice friction and resists abrasion. Galvanic corrosion is prevented by active cathodic protection.

Power and propulsion

Like all modern Finnish icebreakers, ''Kontio'' has a diesel-electric propulsion system. It utilizes the so-called power plant principle in which the main generators provide electricity for all shipboard consumers through a common busbar. Her main generators, four 16-cylinder Wärtsilä Vasa 16V32 four-stroke medium-speed diesel engines producing 5,460kW each and driving 7,540 kVA Kymi- Strömberg alternators, are located on the upper deck beneath the helicopter platform.Cycloconverters for the new icebreaker from Kymmene-Strömberg. Navigator 1985. In addition, she has two smaller Wärtsilä 4R22/26 generators with an output of 350kW for use in ports.Jäänmurtajalaivastoa uusitaan. Suomen Merenkulku 2/1985. Pages 6–8. The uncommon location of the engine room was chosen to improve the seakeeping characteristics of the icebreaker by moving the center of gravity higher to calm the ship's motions in heavy weather. In addition, the maintenance of the main engines is easier as the heavy engine components can be handled with the ship's main crane and the heavy fuel oil tanks could be placed amidships to reduce the probability of an oil spill in case of grounding. , ''Kontio'' and her sister ship ''Otso'' are the only Finnish icebreakers running on heavy fuel oil which, being the cheapest fuel available, reduces operational costs of the icebreaker.

''Kontio'' and her sister ship ''Otso'' were the first icebreakers in the world to utilize cycloconverters and alternating current (AC) propulsion motors. Although electrical propulsion had already been used in Finnish icebreakers for almost five decades due to its flexibility and good torque characteristics at low propeller speeds, the older vessels had direct current (DC) propulsion motors which were very heavy and bulky at such power levels. Although it would have been possible to use two smaller DC motors in tandem, recent advances in drive and control technology as well as excellent experiences from a prototype installation on board the Finnish research vessel ''Aranda'' were in favor of the new type of propulsion system. As a result, ''Otso'' and ''Kontio'' were fitted with two Kymi-Strömberg synchronous AC motors rated at 7,500kW. The maximum power is available at propeller speeds ranging from 115 to 220rpm to both directions and at lower speeds the propulsion motors are capable of providing 130% of the rated torque to prevent the four-bladed stainless steel propellers from jamming in severe ice conditions. The bollard pull of ''Kontio'' is 160tons.

Prior to the construction of the new vessels, all Finnish state-owned icebreakers built after the Second World War had been fitted with two bow propellers to reduce the friction between ice and the hull of the vessel in difficult ice conditions. However, the quad-shaft propulsion system was expensive to build and maintain, and the forward propeller bossings considerably increased the resistance of the ship. Although Finnish icebreaker captains voiced their concerns about the maneuverability and icebreaking capability of a vessel without bow propellers especially in heavy ice ridges and at crawling speeds,Otso osoittautui kelpo murtajaksi. Suomen Merenkulku 4/1986. Pages 22–24 extensive model testing at Wärtsilä's new ice model test basin showed that the ice resistance could be reduced by replacing the bow propellers with a "clean" hull and adopting an air bubbling system to lubricate the hull. The patented Wärtsilä Air Bubbling System (WABS) onboard ''Otso'' and ''Kontio'' consists of three compressors with a combined output of 1,900kW that pump air through 46 nozzles located below the waterline on both sides of the vessel. At low speeds, the system can also be used for manoeuvering. In addition, she has large ballast tanks and high-capacity pumps that can be used for rapid heeling and trimming to release the icebreaker if she is immobilized by compressive pack ice.

Like her sister ship ''Otso'', ''Kontio'' has also been retrofitted with a bow thruster to assist manoeuvering.

Oil recovery equipment

In response to the increasing oil transportation in the Gulf of Finland, the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) chartered ''Kontio'' for the summer months and fitted her with oil recovery equipment at a cost of 2.2 million euro.Kontio kastaa tassunsa öljyyn
Tekniikka & Talous, 24 September 2010. The contract, signed on 17 November 2009, was valid for three years starting from 24 July 2010 and had an option of another three years. In April 2013, the option was utilized and the contract was extended by three years.Kontiolle jatkosopimus öljyntorjuntaan ja uusi arktinen keräin
Arctia Shipping, 19 April 2013. According to the contract, ''Kontio'' would remain in constant readiness in the icebreaker base at Katajanokka, Helsinki. During the winter months, she resumed her escort icebreaker duties in the Gulf of Bothnia but maintained a preparedness for oil spill response operation in ice-covered waters.Jäänmurtaja Kontiolle kolmivuotinen sopimus öljyntorjuntatehtävistä pohjoisella Itämerellä
Suomen Merimies-Unioni SMU ry, 18 November 2009. J/m Kontio valmiustilassa öljyntorjuntaan 24/7
. Suomen Merimies-Unioni SMU ry, 15 September 2010.

During a conversion at Turku Repair Yard in Naantali, Finland, ''Kontio'' was modified for oil spill response duties. Her large heeling tanks and one fuel tank were converted to storage tanks for recovered oil with a combined capacity of 2,033 cubic meters. Furthermore, she was fitted with cranes to handle the recovery equipment and two new lifeboats that were not deemed necessary in the past when the ship was used only for icebreaking. The oil recovery equipment onboard ''Kontio'' was manufactured by Lamor. She had two rigid sweeping booms that can be deployed on both sides of the vessel to direct oil slick to stiff brush skimmers when the vessel is moving at low speeds. Due to her size, ''Kontio'' had the largest sweeping width among Finnish oil spill response vessels as well as the largest storage tank capacity. In addition, she had a remote controlled free-floating robot skimmer that could be deployed in an area enclosed by oil booms. On her aft deck, ''Kontio'' carried of heavy duty open water oil boom that could also be deployed in the presence of ice. In 2013, ''Kontio'' was fitted with an additional Arctic skimmer capable of recovering oil in ice conditions.

Since 2010, ''Kontio'' regularly participated in the yearly national and international oil recovery exercises such as Balex Delta.Balex Delta oil spill response exercise to begin today 28 August with a national exercise
Finnish Environment Institute, 28 August 2012. Since she was in constant readiness, ''Kontio'' was always moored on the outside when the Finnish icebreakers are moored in tiers of two in the icebreaker base at Katajanokka during the summer months.

The contract with EMSA expired on 13 April 2016 and the oil recovery equipment was removed.Öljyntorjunnan valmiussopimus pohjoisella Itämerellä päättyy
Arctia Shipping, 22 March 2016. During the six years that ''Kontio'' remained on standby for oil spill response operations, there were no major oil spills in the Baltic Sea.

Career

Before ''Otso'' entered service in 1986, the Finnish icebreaker captains were sceptical about the ability of an icebreaker without bow propellers to operate successfully in the shallow Finnish waters characterized by heavy ice ridges. However, after the early teething problems and successful ice trials, the opinions changed and the performance of the "Bubbler of the Bothnian Bay" was generally deemed to be satisfactory. Over the years, ''Otso'' and her sister ship ''Kontio'' have proved to be very cost-efficient and for that reason they are the first Finnish state-owned icebreakers to be deployed for icebreaking in the Gulf of Bothnia every winter.

In addition to icebreaking duties and, later, oil spill response preparedness, ''Kontio'' has been used for various different tasks. In July 2011, she participated in the sea trials of ''Dir'', an escort tug built in St. Petersburg. In the tests, the much smaller tug was attached to the stern of the icebreaker to determine its bollard pull while the icebreaker towed it at different speeds.Jäänmurtaja Kontio saattohinaajan testiajossa
. Suomen Merimies-Unioni SMU ry, 8 July 2011.

, ''Otso'' and ''Kontio'' are the last Finnish icebreakers designed solely for escorting merchant ships through ice-infested waters. In the 1990s, the Finnish Maritime Administration commissioned three multipurpose icebreakers with a secondary role in offshore construction projects during the summer months. However, due to the criticism of the multipurpose icebreakers and Arctic offshore drilling in general, the new icebreaker ''Polaris'' will again be a traditional one.Ministeri ja varustamo eri linjoilla uudesta jäänmurtajasta
YLE, 2 April 2012.

Notes

References

Bibliography

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kontio
1986 ships
Icebreakers of Finland
Ships built in Helsinki