Diesel-Electric Icebreaker, Rothelstein, Launched At Kvaerner's Helsinki Yard

The river icebreaker Rothelstein, for the Osterreichische Donaukraftwerke AG, Austria, has been launched at Kvaerner Masa-Yards' Helsinki New Shipyard. The vessel, to be delivered in spring 1995, will operate in assisting river traffic and break ice formations at the power stations in the river Danube.

The new icebreaker has an extremely shallow draft, only 7.2 ft. (2 m). In spite of this, the vessel can break more than 2.3 ft. (.7-m) thick level ice in continuous mode of operation. This is the result of extensive development work at Kvaerner Masa-Yards' Arctic Research Center. The vessel will be equipped with two azimuthing electric propulsion drives. The new azipod propulsion system has been jointly developed by Kvaerner Masa-Yards and ABB Industry of Finland. The ice trials of the vessel will be conducted in the Baltic in winter 1995.

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