MSV Botnica icebreaker

MS Botnica is a Finnish icebreaking vessel owned and operated by Arctia Shipping (Finnish state-owned company). "MSV" stands for "multipurpose supply vessel". One of Finland's icebreaker ships, Botnica is a platform supply vessel designed for escorting ships in Baltic Sea during winter and for assisting offshore construction (oil and gas drilling) projects through the rest of the year.

As design, this ice-breaking ship is similar to MSV Fennica and MSV Nordica.

This originally Finnish ship was designed for escort and assistance of marine vessels in Baltic Sea during winter. During summer, the ship is used for offshore operations (mainly in North European oil fields) and occasionally - for offshore constructions. The Finnish-Swedish ice class is "DNV ICE-10".

Like most Finnish icebreakers, Botnica started operations under charter for DSND Offshore AS (half-year contract) and during winter was employed as an escort vessel in the Baltic Sea.

In 2004, the ownership and ship management was transferred from Finnish Maritime Administration to Finstaship (also state-owned enterprise). Later, the GDV Maritime AS company was established (Finnish-Norwegian partnership) in which Finstaship company's share was 34%. In 2010, the state-owned Arctia Shipping Oy company took over Finstaship's operations. The ownership and ship management was transferred to Arctia Offshore Oy (a subsidiary).

On October 24, 2012, Port Tallinn purchased the icebreaker Botnica from Arctia Shipping for EUR 50 million. Following the purchase, on November 28th the vessel (IMO number 9165877) changed flag-state/registry from Finland (Helsinki/MMSI 230904000) to Estonia (Tallinn/MMSI 276805000).

Botnica icebreaker vessel details

For better maneuverability, the ship's hull at the bow is wider in comparison to its stern section. The hull also features an explosion-welded ice belt (made of stainless steel) for reducing friction and protecting the steel plates from abrasion.

To assist offshore constructions, the ship is equipped with a MacGregor heavy-lift crane (lifting capacity is up to 150 tons). Before the 2010 refit, the Botnica ship also had a helicopter hangar (now replaced with a helipad). The ship's equipment also includes a 120-ton A-frame structure (for ploughs and trenching machines), Aquamaster-Rauma anchor, hydraulic towing winch (capacity 210-ton) and a stern notch (for towing smaller vessels through ice fields).

At the stern there are also an open deck (size 1000 m2 / 10760 ft2) and a square moon pool (sized 6,5 x 6,5 m / 21 x 21 ft) used for underwater operations. The ship's fuel consumption (marine diesel oil per day) is 50 tons (at full power), 25 tons (at service speed 22 kph / 14 mph), 15 tons (dynamic positioning /during offshore operations) and 4 tons (at the port). Botnica's ice-breaking capacity is 1,2 m (able to maintain constant speed).

The vessel has 1 Dining Room/Messhall, Sauna Room, no swimming pool, no elevator, 1 helipad (Helideck).

• Max Draught: 8 m (26 ft)
• DWT Deadweight tonnage: 2890 tons
• Displacement tonnage: 5880 tons
• Bollard pull (emergency towing capacity) 117 tons
• Power: 12x Caterpillar 3512B V12 DITA high-speed diesel engines (each 1,26 MW power output), combined output 15 MW). The ship has no separate auxiliary generators. There is a Caterpillar 3406 (6-cylinder) emergency diesel generator (power output 230 kW).
• Propulsion: Diesel-electric, 2x azimuth thrusters (ABB Azipod motors VI1600A, each 5 MW output, ducted fixed-pitch propellers); 3 Brunvoll bow thrusters (each 1,15 MW output, with variable-pitch propellers). Bow thrusters can't be used in ice.

Note: In the case of poor AIS coverage, tracking the vessel's current location will be impossible. You can see the CruiseMapper's list of all icebreakers and ice-breaking research ships in the "itinerary" section of our Icebreakers hub. All states and their fleets are listed there.