Sankt Erik, Sweden´s first sea-going icebreaker, was launched in 1915 at the Finnboda Shipyard. She was built to keep the shipping routes to Stockholm open during wintertime.
Although owned and operated by the Stockholm Port Authority, Sankt Erik was often requisitioned by the Swedish government to assist shipping in the Gulf of Bothnia, around the coast of Scania and elsewhere. In 1977 Sankt Erik was decommissioned, and she has been a museum ship since 1980.
Initially known as Isbrytaren II, the ship replaced an older vessel which was less suited for icebreaking in the Baltic. She was renamed after an extensive refit in 1958. The bridge was enclosed to protect the crew from the cold. Sankt Erik was also fitted with a modern radio and radar. Simultaneously, the steam boilers were converted to use fuel oil instead of coal, greatly reducing the need for fuel bunkering.
Sankt Erik was built as a conventional Baltic icebreaker. The stem is angled to slide up onto the ice, which is then crushed by the weight and force of the vessel. She has a fore propeller that flushes water and crushed ice along the sides the hull.
Sankt Erik has a heeling system that enables sea water to be pumped between tanks in the sides of the hull: the icebreaker is "rocked" from side to side to reduce the grip of the ice and to broaden the channel. There are also brackets in the stern used for towing assisted vessels.
The ship has two three-cylinder steam engines. The aft one (2,800 hp) is Sweden´s largest extant marine steam engine. The fore engine produces a maximum of 1,200 hp.
Facts
Length: 60 m
Width: 17 m
Draught: 6,5 m
Crew: 30
