Wärtsilä to Supply Engines for Canadian Polar Icebreaker

Finnish technology group Wärtsilä reports it will supply the engines for a new Canadian Coast Guard Polar Icebreaker being designed and built at Seaspan Vancouver Shipyards.

The 158 meter-long multi-mission Polar Icebreaker will operate under PC2 conditions with four 16-cylinder and two 8-cylinder Wärtsilä 31 engines, delivering 47 MW of power. The engines will be fitted with selective catalytic reduction (SCR) systems for IMO Tier III environmental compliance. Wärtsilä will also supply the center shaft line with a stainless-steel ice-class propeller, as well as Wärtsilä’s NACOS Platinum navigation system.

Wärtsilä said it booked the order in Q3 2023 and noted it is scheduled to deliver the equipment to the shipyard in 2025.

When built, the new vessel will be the Canadian Coast Guard’s largest icebreaker and will replace ‘CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent’, which is due to retire at the end of the decade after 60 years of service.