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Finnish State-owned icebreaker IB Kontio has been converted for oil com- bating tasks. The icebreaker will, as be- fore, continue to provide icebreaking assistance to merchant vessels plying the Finnish fairways in wintertime, but will now also be in stand-by for oil combat- ing tasks, year-round. Before this, IB Kontio, as most other Finnish icebreak- ers, has laid idle during the summer months. State-owned Arctia Shipping Ltd. was established at the beginning of this year to operate the five vessel icebreaker fleet of Finland. Arctia Shipping won the ten- der last summer issued by the European Maritime Safety Agency EMSA for the oil combating service for the Northern Baltic Sea. With an oil tank storage ca- pacity of 2,033 cu. m IB Kontio is now the largest oil combating vessel in the Northern Baltic Sea. The diesel-electric icebreaker has a total shaft power of 15MW. The length is 99m, waterline breadth 24.2m, and maximum draft 8m. There is a crew of 22 persons. The 9130 ton displacement icebreaker was built by the Helsinki shipyard in 1987. EMSA has financed all changes made to the vessel including the oil spill pre- vention equipment and pays Arctia Ship- ping close to EUR600,000 annually for maintaining stand-by. The total budget for the project, currently in force for the next three years, is EUR4m including costs for the conversion and oil combat- ing equipment. A separate charter con- tract is applied in case of engagement. The contract includes an option to extend the contract for three more years. Arctia Shipping is to arrange four full scale re- hearsals per year, at own cost, and is committed to participate in one maxi- mum 10-day long international rehearsals per year. IB Kontio's operating area now covers the whole of the Baltic Sea and oil combating services are offered to all EU member states, including Finland. The vessel was fitted with two 30 person Hatecke lifeboats needed to allow for the extended services as well as ISPS, ISPP and IOPP certification. 22 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News FEATURE MAIRNE DESIGN Double Duty Baltic icebreaker doubles as EU Oil Clean-Up Vessel by Henrik Segercrantz EMSA provides oil spill response along the coastline of the European Union - in the Baltic Sea, North Sea, Mediterranean Sea and in the Black Sea. Finnish icebreaker Kontio now also doubles as oil combating vessel for the European Mar- itime Safety Agency EMSA.
