Sweden on Friday signed a deal with South Korea's HD Hyundai Heavy Industries for a new icebreaker to be delivered in 2029, the Swedish Maritime Administration said.The Scandinavian country currently has six icebreakers, with the largest ones built in the 1970s and 1980s and now nearing the end of their lifespans.
"Nine out of 10 goods exported from and imported to Sweden are transported by sea. Sweden's basic industries depend on shipping working year-round," the director general of the Maritime Administration, Erik Eklund, said in a statement.
The vessel will be larger than the country's current icebreakers, capable of breaking a channel up to 32 metres wide compared to today's 24 metres, the agency said.
At the same time, energy consumption will be reduced by 40 percent, it said.
The agency said four bids were submitted, but did not name the companies.
"HD Hyundai Heavy Industries submitted the most advantageous bid," it said.
No price was announced for the new vessel either, but Infrastructure Minister Andreas Carlson told news agency TT the government would soon announce an injection of 4.1 billion kronor ($444 million) to pay for a new icebreaker.
Sweden plans to gradually replace its ageing icebreakers with new ones, the maritime agency said.
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HYUNDAI HEAVY INDUSTRIES
