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Icebreaker

Tags: craft | work boat

The main purpose of an icebreaker is to plough through ice in rivers, harbors, and polar regions to open a path for the navigation or material supply of other ships. Every icebreaker has a strengthened hull, with a "L-shaped" bow. She can smash ice up to 90cm thick usually. (The "Arktika", a Russian nuclear-powered icebreaker launched in 1974, can break ice as thick as 240cm .) An icebreaker can also drive her bow straight over a very thick ice sheet and glide on top of it. The ice sheet will give way under the weight of her hull.

 

Text and images are provided by Tamkang University Maritime Museum