Building an Arctic icebreaker: ‘Polar Max’ takes shape in Helsinki shipyard
This is a reproduction of an article that first appeared on Sixty Degrees North. If you would like to read more posts by Peter Rybski, you can sign up for his blog here.
On March 8, 2025, the Government of Canada awarded Davie a contract to deliver a Polar Class 2 (heavy) icebreaker to the Canadian Coast Guard by 2030. The design, called the Polar Max, is under construction in both Finland and Canada.
Production work officially began on August 20, 2025, with a steel-cutting ceremony held at Helsinki Shipyard. And on September 9, 2025 — Production Day 20 — I visited the shipyard and subsequently published some photos of early production work.
From the beginning, I thought that tracking construction of this vessel was important as by watching and documenting the project, perhaps I could finally dispel the belief that Finnish shipyards could not build heavy icebreakers. At the same time, closely tracking the project would demonstrate how well Helsinki Shipyard meets is schedule and budget (it has a history of meeting schedule and budget). In a crowded field where many shipbuilders promise the world, having recent data matters.
As I wrote about here, I went to work for Davie Group back in February, based at Helsinki Shipyard. From that vantage, I can see the Polar Max rapidly taking shape. Rather than just taking my word for it, allow me to point out some publicly available information on its progress.
May 2026: First block delivered from SATA Shipbuilding
In my May article about SATA Shipbuilding, I included this photo of a block being loaded onto a barge for shipment to Helsinki Shipyard:
May 2026: Coin ceremony and start of hull assembly
On May 28th, Helsinki Shipyard marked the beginning of hull assembly with a traditional coin ceremony.
What is a coin ceremony? According to Wikipedia:
The coin ceremony is an event which takes place at the keel laying, in the early stages of a ship’s construction. In it, the shipbuilders place one or two coins under the keel block of the new ship to bless the ship and as a symbol of good fortune. The coins are not normally fixed in place and are often retrieved when the ship sails out of the dry-dock, (although they are sometimes welded to the keel).
In the below photos (from a post by Alex Vicefield on LinkedIn) you can see that the coins were placed in one of the support blocks:
Following this, the first block of the Polar Max to be placed in the drydock was moved onto the supports. Those that participated then posed for a photo in front of the block:
… while hundreds of others watched from above:
Later, after the hull is floated out, the coins will be removed and welded to the mast of the vessel in what is often called a mast stepping. This tradition goes far back in time.
According to Heritage Gateway, a Roman ship from around 150 AD (discovered in London in 1962) had a copper coin in its mast step.
On schedule and on budget:
According to a Helsinki Shipyard press release accompanying the ceremony, things are going well:
“This project, one of the largest icebreaker programs in Western history, has remained on schedule and on budget, demonstrating our exceptional expertise and experience in delivering projects on this scale. The project is truly unique, combining Finnish and Canadian shipbuilding capabilities while strengthening the long-term competitiveness of the Inocea Group,” says Mika Heiskanen, CEO of the Davie shipyards in Finland.
The press release also notes that this project is increasing employment and driving capital investment:
The project will result in the recruitment of more than 600 new employees across Helsinki Shipyard and Sata Shipbuilding. In addition, tens of millions of euros have already been invested in operations during the current ownership period. The most significant upgrade is a new intermediate gate installed in Helsinki Shipyard’s 280-metre dry dock, further accelerating project delivery times. Recruitment and investments will continue as planned.
According to the Helsinki Shipyard website’s ‘For Neighbors’ section1, construction on the intermediate gates began in early 2026, with work lasting until the end of April.
With the intermediate gate work complete, I expect that hull will quickly begin taking shape, as there are many blocks under construction and outfitting, some of which appear nearly complete.
Construction now underway in Quebec
According to a March 31, 2026 Davie press release:
Davie is proud to announce the launch of construction of the Polar Max, Canada’s next generation polar icebreaker, at its shipyard in Lévis. This milestone marks a historic moment for Canadian shipbuilding and a major step forward in delivering Canada’s next polar icebreaker under the National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS).
Awarded to Davie in March 2025 under a fixed-price contract, the Polar Max is progressing at a pace not seen in Canadian shipbuilding for generations, thanks to close collaboration between Davie, Helsinki Shipyard, and the Canadian Coast Guard. The dual-build approach will allow Canada to receive this much-needed vessel on a significantly compressed schedule, while maximizing the volume of work performed in Canada and keeping Davie’s broader NSS order book fully on track. This model enables construction to advance simultaneously in Canada and Finland, accelerating delivery timelines by several years while expanding Canada’s shipbuilding workforce and ensuring early, sustained participation from Canadian industry.
The collaboration is driving a powerful two-way knowledge-sharing exchange between Finnish and Canadian workers. More than fifty employees are already rotating between the two countries, fuelling the expertise that will power future NSS programs and advancing the ICE Pact’s vision of deeper cooperation, stronger capability development, and greater industrial resilience among allied shipbuilding nations.
Here are some photos of the work being done in Lévis, posted by Davie to LinkedIn on May 7th:
It’s all coming together.
Thoughts and comments
I went to work for Davie because I have been following shipbuilding, especially icebreaker construction, for years. Based on my research and personal observation, I have concluded that Davie has the ability to build complex ships within a relevant timeframe. Additionally, and very importantly, they have a plan that will improve the allied maritime industrial base- including in the United States.
The Polar Max project demonstrates in real time three facts in support of my conclusion:
- Finnish shipyards can indeed build heavy icebreakers, and in a relevant timeline. The Polar Max is scheduled to deliver in 2030, five years after contract award. Delivery would have been quicker with an all-Finland build, as it would have been simpler to execute than the multi-yard, multi-nation build. (However, that trans-Atlantic cooperation is very important).
- Davie Shipyards in Finland can build on-time and on-budget. When their leadership says they can build a ship in 26 months, it isn’t just spin. There’s a track record to prove it.
- The cooperative model, of Finnish shipbuilders working with their North American partners, is working in Canada. This is another reason to be confident that Davie’s investment in U.S. Shipbuilding, through Davie Defense and Gulf Copper, with help the U.S. Maritime Industrial Base.
More coming soon on other heavy icebreaker programs, as well as the other major recent news from Davie- the groundbreaking on the upgrades at Davie Defense’s Gulf Copper shipyards in Galveston and Port Arthur, TX.
All the best,
PGR
Peter Rybski is the Director of Polar Intelligence for Davie Group. The opinions and views expressed at Sixty Degrees North belong solely to the author and do not necessarily reflect those of his employer.
