Icebreaker

An icebreaker is a special-purpose <a href="/facts/Ship/418ptx1L">ship</a> or <a href="/facts/Boat/dz9LnNN6">boat</a> designed to move and <a href="/facts/Ice_navigation/L72tvA3S">navigate</a> through <a href="/facts/Ice/BGvkKFjD">ice</a>-covered waters, and provide safe <a href="/facts/Waterway/F0cpQUNN">waterways</a> for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking <a href="/facts/Ship/418ptx1L">ships</a>, it may also refer to smaller vessels, such as the icebreaking boats that were once used on the <a href="/facts/Canals_of_the_United_Kingdom/aXu8gTjk">canals of the United Kingdom</a>.
For a ship to be considered an icebreaker, it requires three traits most normal ships lack: a strengthened <a href="/facts/Hull_(watercraft)/hY6LxATt">hull</a>, an ice-clearing shape, and the power to push through <a href="/facts/Sea_ice/tgTbCYwg">sea ice</a>.
Icebreakers clear paths by pushing straight into frozen-over water or <a href="/facts/Pack_ice/DLeUDwYg">pack ice</a>. The bending strength of sea ice is low enough that the ice breaks usually without noticeable change in the vessel's trim. In cases of very thick ice, an icebreaker can drive its <a href="/facts/Bow_(ship)/7IMvUGon">bow</a> onto the ice to break it under the weight of the ship. A buildup of broken ice in front of a ship can slow it down much more than the breaking of the ice itself, so icebreakers have a specially designed hull to direct the broken ice around or under the vessel. The external components of the ship's propulsion system (<a href="/facts/Propeller/0IN0JKXC">propellers</a>, <a href="/facts/Drive_shaft/lHnhqzzT">propeller shafts</a>, etc.) are at greater risk of damage than the vessel's hull, so the ability of an icebreaker to propel itself onto the ice, break it, and clear the debris from its path successfully is essential for its safety.

Icebreaker open-in-new

Icebreaker