Railo Technology Inc

22/10/2026

Two directions, one hull. And a captain who has to trust it.

In 2003, the double-acting tanker Mastera was delivered just in time for an exceptionally severe winter. Pekka Salmi joined a voyage from the Sköldvik oil terminal to Primorsk harbour, unsure whether the captain would fully use the stern-first capability. Many captains were still reluctant to give up decades of conventional practice.

Leaving the terminal, the captain turned the vessel 180 degrees and went stern-first all the way to Primorsk. Behind the vessel, a wide, stable channel opened in the heavy ice. Soon, ships leaving St. Petersburg began to follow it.

“We had provided the tool, but it was ultimately up to the captains to trust it,” Salmi says.

Read the full story: https://railotech.fi/article/das-from-radical-idea-to-arctic-standard/

13/10/2026

Out in the middle of the Arctic Ocean, the Swedish research icebreaker Oden has spent the summer doing something quietly remarkable: mapping the seabed for a possible fibre-optic cable between Europe, North America and East Asia. The Polar Connect expedition even discovered and mapped undersea volcanoes along the Gakkel Ridge, PolarJournal reports.

It's a project close to our hearts. Railotech has supported the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat with ice management planning, seabed mapping logistics and pre-feasibility studies for a new heavy polar research icebreaker.

The internet's next big route may one day run beneath the ice at the top of the world.

https://railotech.fi/publications/oden-maps-cable-corridors-across-the-central-arctic-ocean/

09/10/2026

Picture two people standing at the bridge window of an icebreaker, watching a sheet of ice crack open ahead. It's an impressive sight - but it's only part of the story.

Below the waterline, out of view, is where roughly two thirds of the real work happens: the hull diverting broken ice around and underneath the vessel. And the smooth, level ice in that view is actually rare. Most winters bring ridges, brash ice, snow-covered channels - conditions that barely resemble the calm sheet a ship's speed is usually tested against.

As Lead Naval Architect Tuomas Romu puts it: "The best icebreaker is not the one that breaks the thickest ice, but the one that performs the full range of its tasks most efficiently."

Read more: https://railotech.fi/article/is-level-icebreaking-a-valid-measure/

02/10/2026

What makes a ship "ice class"? And when does it become an icebreaker?

Our Head of Consultancy and Technology Development, Rob Hindley, joined Adrian Dolinay on The Aspiring STEM Geek podcast to unpack the engineering behind ice-going ships – from ice types and hull forms to propulsion, the Polar Code and the future of Arctic shipping.

His definition of an icebreaker?

"It's about the mission."

90 minutes of ice engineering, explained the way specialists talk.
Listen here: https://youtu.be/8OGq5ZhdSY4?si=sDNc0alryVTKeKno

In this episode I talk with Rob Hindley, the Head of Consultancy an...

25/09/2026

In 2015, Ponant dared to dream of something no one had attempted before: a cruise ship capable of reaching the North Pole on a regular schedule. When they brought the idea to Railotech, the first reaction was hesitation - quickly followed by excitement.

That spark of ambition grew into years of ice research, model testing and design work. The result: Le Commandant Charcot, and eventually a transpolar traverse across three separate points defined as Arctic "poles" - the Geographic North Pole, the North Magnetic Pole, and the Pole of Inaccessibility - linked together in a single voyage for the first time.

Not every conversation leads to headlines. But every project that gets built starts with one.

https://railotech.fi/article/le-commandant-charcot-completes-historic-journey-across-the-three-arctic-poles/



Photo: PONANT – Antoine Le Guen / Le Commandant Charcot at the Magnetic North Pole.

18/09/2026

Antarctica has no ports, no spare-parts store, no one to call if something breaks — everything a ship needs there, it has to carry with it.

That's the world Railotech designed L'Astrolabe for: a compact French polar vessel built to resupply the remote Dumont d'Urville research station, then patrol tropical Réunion Island once the Antarctic season closes.

The brief came with a catch — the vessel's length and beam were fixed, so meeting strict polar safety rules meant reshaping the hull and reinforcing the steel from the inside out, without changing the overall size. "It proved to be quite a puzzle," says Chief Designer Lars Lönnberg, recalling how even the gym made way for machinery space.

Delivered exactly on schedule in 2017, L'Astrolabe now makes up to five trips a season to one of Earth's most remote research stations.

https://railotech.fi/article/antarctic-science-the-french-polar-logistics-vessel-l-astrolabe/

11/09/2026

Some ships get a second chapter. CCGS Judy LaMarsh just joined the Canadian Coast Guard fleet - the first big new vessel on the Great Lakes in more than thirty years - ready for icebreaking and buoy duty along the St. Lawrence River.

Before she was Judy LaMarsh, she was Mangystau-2, built by our team to break ice and tow heavy loads for an oil field in the Caspian Sea, of all places. Same tough little hull, new coastline, new crew learning her ways.

It's a nice reminder that good ice engineering travels well, wherever the winter is.

https://youtu.be/G3s9Op8VChg?si=6xcvmBGZ3bNI7zuv

Big day for the CCGS Judy LaMarsh! 🎉⚓️Today, we’re celebrating th...

08/09/2026

Before Sweden's next-generation icebreaker takes to the ice, she existed only as scale models gliding through Railotech's ice tank in Finland.

Four concept alternatives were built and tested this way - hull form, propulsion, and all - with three pushed further into real ice conditions and open water trials in Sweden. The chosen propulsion concept was then put to a full-scale test aboard the Finnish icebreaker Polaris - which already uses the same triple-azimuth arrangement - with engineers from both the Swedish Maritime Administration and the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency on board to watch it work.

"Ice model testing is a highly cost-efficient way to verify that a design meets customer requirements before construction begins," says Chief Designer Tuomas Romu.

From a scale model in a test tank to a 126-metre ship now under construction - that's the journey.

https://railotech.fi/article/swedens-next-generation-icebreaker-takes-shape/

28/08/2026

Two teams, one stand. This September, Railotech and Bluetech Finland will appear together at SMM Hamburg for the very first time as sister companies.

It's a small but meaningful moment - a year after joining forces, the engineering crews from both companies will be sharing the same space at one of the world's biggest maritime shows.

You'll find us at Hall B4.EG, Stand 206, from 1 to 4 September. If you're heading to Hamburg, stop by and say hello - bring your questions, or just come for a chat.

21/08/2026

To an outside observer, an ice model test might look like a quick, straightforward procedure. Research engineer Toni Skogström knows better - behind every test day is weeks of planning.

Each ice sheet is prepared to Toni's own custom recipe, adjusted for the thickness, strength, and elasticity a specific test needs, and calibrated using years of data from past ice fields. Only once the measurements check out does testing begin, running all day across tests like level ice, brash ice channels, and ridges, before two team members stay behind to prepare tomorrow's sheet.

"Then, the next model testing series is already lined up, and before you know it, months have passed," Toni says.

It's meticulous work, but Toni wouldn't trade it. "Our great team and work community are also the best parts of working at Aker Arctic," he adds.

https://railotech.fi/article/every-ice-model-test-requires-detailed-planning/