The Kontio (Finnish for bear ) is a Finnish icebreaker with home port Helsinki , the 1987 at the Wärtsilä - shipyard was built in Helsinki. The Kontio is 99.0 m long and 24.2 m wide with a draft of 8 m. With an output of 15,000 kW, provided by two Wärtsilä 16V32 diesel engines, 18.5 knots can be achieved. The ship has a displacement of 9,000 tons.
The Kontio and her sister ship Otso are usually used as the first in the Finnish icebreaker fleet. It is used in the Gulf of Bothnia . The ship is owned by Arctia Shipping OY. It is the successor to the Finnish Shipping Enterprise (FINSTASHIP).
Kontio has the classic, shallow angle bow of an icebreaker. The double screw and rudder system is specially reinforced for ice rides. The propellers beat outwards to get as little contact as possible with ice floes. To increase the icebreaker performance, the ship has an airbubbling system. Air is pumped into the water at the bottom of the chimney. The rising bubbles create a torrent of air / water on the hull, which considerably reduces the friction between the hull and the ice. Furthermore, trim tanks are built into the bow and stern . When approaching ice barriers, the bow can be lifted out of the water in order to then weigh it down with ballast water and break the ice. Freezing in the ice is prevented by the heeling system. 630 tons of water can be pumped back and forth in 40 seconds, resulting in a heel angle of 7 °.
Conversions
For better maneuverability, a bow thruster with a diameter of 2.4 meters was retrofitted . Previously, the airbubbling system was used, which was only switched on on one side. The Eutelsat VSAT satellite communication system and a Selesmar X-band radar were installed on the Kontio in 2002. Since 2010, the ship has also been used as an oil spill ship. The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) chartered the icebreaker for this purpose.
literature
Klaus Buldt: Eisbrecher in the original and model. Neckar-Verlag, Villingen-Schwenningen (1994), ISBN 3-7883-1118-5
↑ Ice Conditions 2012-12-30. (PDF; 524 kB) In: SMHI Ice service. Sveriges Meteorologiska och Hydrologiska Institut, December 30, 2012, accessed on January 21, 2013 .
↑ Ice Conditions 2012-01-18. (PDF; 472 kB) In: SMHI Ice service. Sveriges Meteorologiska och Hydrologiska Institut, January 18, 2012, accessed on January 21, 2013 .
