Icebreaker Botnica arrives from Canada for winter period
Estonian icebreaker Botnica has arrived in Estonia from Canada, where the vessel played a role in Arctic research and also worked for an iron mining company during the summer. The MSV Botnica will service Estonian waterways during the winter period.
The icebreaker worked for a Canadian iron ore mining company in the Arctic for the fourth consecutive summer, but the ship's main emphasis is usually on different research projects in the Arctic, ETV's daily affairs show "Aktuaalne kaamera" reported on Thursday.
"We are a multifunctional ship and we have the skills and capabilities to conduct different special operations, which is why we are used to conduct different tasks there. This season, our main emphasis was on research conducted by Canadian researchers. They used our ship to place monitoring equipment on the seabed," captain Siim Sokk said.
The Botnica, which the Transport Administration leases from Port of Tallinn subsidiary TS Shipping to perform icebreaking work during the winter, is 98 meters long and 24 meters wide.
The ship is chartered to Canada for the summer period, but it services Estonian waterways in the winter months. TS Shipping and the Transport Administration have signed a ten-year contract.
A new contract will be signed with the Canadian employers. "It will likely be for five years. That is what we are working on and are doing so rather thoroughly. But one of Canada's deep desires is for us to have one more icebreaker. They have more work to offer us, but we do not have enough ships," said TS Shipping director Ülo Eero.
The multifunctional icebreaker could also be used in the development and maintentance of off-shore wind farms. "The wind farms planned in Estonia, we would certainly have a place here," Eero noted.
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Editor: Kristjan Kallaste
