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Icebreakers are marine vessels uniquely designed to break ice and make ice-covered waters accessible, either for their own passage or for the passage of other ships through icy landscapes. While they typically only operate in and around the polar regions—the Arctic and the Antarctic oceans—icebreakers themselves are utilized in a wide array of operations and purposes, including but not limited to trade, scientific research, search and rescue, and tourism throughout the year. While they have assisted in clearing a path for military vessels, icebreakers are typically under the direction of national coast guards, not military branches, and are therefore traditionally not associated with offensive capabilities.
Though also outfitted with several unique tools for their terrain such as heaters and spotlights, there are three specific features that allow icebreakers to break through ice: a reinforced hull, which is thicker and covered with special materials; strengthened engines, coupled with specialized navigation and propulsion systems to reduce damage from ice, and; a uniquely wide shape, which gradually slopes at the bow that simultaneously utilizes the ship’s weight to break the ice and pushes away broken ice to prevent buildup. This unique shape of the bow and extreme weight displacement are what make them inefficient and unsuitable for normal waterways outside of polar regions.
While there is not an internationally unified classification system for ice capable ships, there exists a wide array of types that can be categorized based on ship type, size, primary mission, and technical characteristics. For instance, the U.S. and Canada use four classifications—Patrol, Light, Medium, and Heavy—while Russia has nine classifications largely named after their primary missions.
The idea of an icebreaker ship has been around as long as polar exploration has existed, with its earliest predecessors (small wooden ships known as koch used by Arctic coastal communities) dating back to the 11th century. As propulsion technology, shipbuilding, and global exploration evolved over the centuries—especially by the Finnish who have designed about 80% of the world’s icebreakers—the modern icebreaker came to fruition after the turn of the 20th century and continued to popularize. As of January 1, 2024, there are 243 known icebreaking ships worldwide, 179 of which are in service, and nearly half of which belong to Russia. Although Canada began formally supporting icebreaking efforts in the mid-1800s, followed soon after by countries like the U.S. and Sweden, Russia is the world’s icebreaker powerhouse, having been steadily building the world’s largest icebreaker fleet continually since the 1890s and launching the first nuclear-powered icebreaker, the Lenin, in 1957.
On June 28, 2024, the Ivan Papanin departed from St. Petersburg, Russia, to begin its sea trials, marking significant progress in the Russian Navy’s Project 23550: a class of armed, multirole, icebreaking patrol ships also known as Arktika-class icebreakers being built for Russia’s Navy and Coast Guard. Simultaneously being called patrol or icebreaker vessels and yet being armed with at least a 76mm AK-176MA artillery system and capable of launching cruise missiles, there is controversy over how to describe or interpret this class of vessels, which has been referred to as both an “ice-class patrol ship” and a “combat icebreaker.”
Meanwhile, with the Covid-19 pandemic more firmly in the past and wariness about Russia’s unpredictability and aggression building, interest and investments in icebreaker ships have jumped worldwide, driving a new phase of icebreaker construction and interest in several countries. In February, Japan announced its first Arctic research vessel, in construction since 2021, will be named Mirai II, as voted on by the Japanese public. In early July, Chile held a ceremony presenting the Almirante Viel, the first icebreaker entirely built in South America. Most notably, on July 11, the leaders of Canada, Finland and the United States jointly signed the Icebreaker Collaboration Effort or ICE Pact, which they described as necessary to scaling up shipbuilding capacity and “compete on the world stage” against adversaries.
Even outside of the shipbuilding or national security spheres, the awareness of and interest in icebreakers is expanding, especially regarding their cost. The construction of two Russian Project 22220 icebreakers was criticized in July for bringing record monetary losses for the construction shipyard. In Australia, the RSV Nuyina has been facing malfunctions and publicly exceeding budgets, but one of Australia’s proposed solutions under consideration is to purchase a second, supporting vessel to continue operations. And starting in July, the Chinese public is able to physically visit two Chinese-made icebreakers—the newly debuted Ji Di and the famous Xuelong 2—at the port city of Qingdao, exhibiting the increased public interest in and awareness of such vessels.
Even as polar ice sheets continue to melt, icebreakers are gearing up to be the core deciding factor in Arctic and Antarctic presence, and a record number of nations are willing to pay the costs in the name of national interest. Nuclear icebreakers are more powerful and capable than their diesel-electric counterparts, but they are very expensive to operate, which may explain why Russia is the only country constructing nuclear-powered icebreakers today. Seven of the world’s ten largest icebreakers by size belong to Russia, many of them being nuclear-powered, and now Russia is intelligently building massive, multi-use vessels seemingly capable of self-defense. The rest of the world is responding with clear signs indicating more than just a passive interest in icebreakers.
More importantly, the mission and role of icebreakers is transforming before our eyes. Increased offshore drilling and oil production, increased accessibility of northern sea routes in the Arctic, and the increased militarization of the Arctic are pushing policymakers and government officials to creatively apply icebreakers in new ways. Russia’s growing fleet of Arktika-class ships—described by a retired U.S. Coast Guard captain as “extraordinary ships that provide the Russian Federation with a unique, surface ship capability anywhere in the Arctic Ocean”—are particularly eventful and could easily be signaling a shift from icebreakers’ traditionally non-combatant roles. The U.S. Department of Defense’s new 2024 Arctic Strategy and joint ICE Pact also directly link icebreakers to maintaining peace and stability against aggressors in polar regions. This shift in tone can be expected to persist.
This Spotlight was originally released with Volume 3, Issue 7 of the ICAS MAP Handbill, published on July 30, 2024.
This issue’s Spotlight was written by Jessica Martin, ICAS Research Associate & Chief Editor, ICAS Newsletters.
Maritime Affairs Program Spotlights are a short-form written background and analysis of a specific issue related to maritime affairs, which changes with each issue. The goal of the Spotlight is to help our readers quickly and accurately understand the basic background of a vital topic in maritime affairs and how that topic relates to ongoing developments today.
There is a new Spotlight released with each issue of the ICAS Maritime Affairs Program (MAP) Handbill – a regular newsletter released the last Tuesday of every month that highlights the major news stories, research products, analyses, and events occurring in or with regard to the global maritime domain during the past month.
ICAS Maritime Affairs Handbill (online ISSN 2837-3901, print ISSN 2837-3871) is published the last Tuesday of the month throughout the year at 1919 M St NW, Suite 310, Washington, DC 20036.
The online version of ICAS Maritime Affairs Handbill can be found at chinaus-icas.org/icas-maritime-affairs-program/map-handbill/.
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