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www.sname.org/sname/mt January 2013 Fennica engaged in ice management duties for a seismic vessel in the Arctic Ocean. Along Finnish coastlines, 18 larger vessels, suitable for oil spill recovery, are available. e Finnish Environment Institute estimates the combined capacity of these ships to be approximately 8,000 m 3. In July 2010, this capacity was increased by 2,000 m 3 overnight when Kontio , an ice-breaker in Arctia ShippingÂs eet of eight icebreakers, was converted for oil spill recovery capability. is is a natural development of this type of vessel. What ship is better suited to oil recovery operations in winter than an icebreaker? e Finnish Ministry of the Environment reports that there is insucient capacity reserved for oil spill recovery in Finnish coastal waters. According to the Finnish Environment Institute, the authority coordi- nating oil spill response preparedness in Finland, a capacity of 30,000 m 3 per day is currently required in the Gulf of Finland; 20,000 m 3 in the Finnish Archipelago; and 5,000 m 3 in the northern reaches of the Gulf of Bothnia. Naturally, prevention is the best form of risk management. In this respect, progress is being made as new maritime trac management and reporting sys- tems are introduced. However, this does not change the fact that authorities and operational organisations need to be prepared for catastrophes. Furthermore, according to the ministry, there is a need for additional vessels, each with a capacity of 1,000 m3. e cost of such a vessel is 50 to 60 million euros, raising the total cost of six new ships to approximately 300 to 360 million euros, if, for example, six new ves- sels are built. An annual operating cost must be added to this sum. e global icebreaker eet of approximately 100 ves- sels is aging. Renewal will not happen by just snapping our ngers. e fact is, it will take years or even decades to get the new icebreaker generation operational. In order to improve the readiness required in the Arctic, conversions similar to that of Kontio can be done within the existing eet. Arctia has plans for this need for a number of its vessels. Future drilling in the Arctic requires new and additional ice management capacity, both in the form of the existing eet and newbuildings. e combi- nation of ice management and oil recovery should be considered in each newbuilding, as a vast sum of money can be saved with this approach. The winters of 2010 and 2011 provided a harsh reminder of how extreme conditions on the Baltic Sea can be.