Aino icebreaker order fills Pori shipyard’s order book

The order for Finland’s new Aino icebreaker will keep work flowing at Sata Shipbuilding’s Pori shipyard through the end of the decade, the company’s chief executive said, according to Yle.

The Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency ordered the vessel, which will be built at shipyards in Helsinki and Pori’s Mäntyluoto district. Sata Shipbuilding will handle the ship’s steel and block production, while the Helsinki shipyard will oversee the shipyard delivery and assembly.

“There is a lot of work now, but it can be done well. The order does not create an impossible situation for us,” chief executive Niko Suomela said.

The work has been scheduled so that the steel structures for three icebreakers can be produced mainly one after another at Mäntyluoto.

The final steel structures for the Polar Max icebreaker ordered by Canada are due to be completed in Pori in September. The shipyard has also begun steelwork on an icebreaker ordered by the United States Coast Guard.

Staffing needs under review

Suomela said it was still too early to assess how the Aino order would affect the number of employees at the shipyard.

Sata Shipbuilding has previously said it aims to increase its workforce to about 250 people. The shipyard currently employs around 150, and the company plans to recruit about 100 employees by the end of next year.

“We will take this step first and then see what is needed. This order certainly does not reduce the need,” Suomela said.

The Aino icebreaker is scheduled for completion in 2029.