This is the Icebreaker Mackinaw, decommissioned in 2006. It has a length of 290 feet with the lower hull being constructed of steel plates 1 5/8 inch thick, and steel beams being 16 inches apart...just like the studs in our homes. Instead of cutting through the ice as we normally think of, it is made to be propelled up on the ice and the weight of the Mackinaw breaks the ice.
It can carry 46,910 gallons of diesel fuel, has 6 huge diesel engines that provide the electrical power to turn two 14-foot diameter stern propellers. It also has a brow propeller that is 12-foot, weighs 7.2 ton...it first draws the water from beneath the ice ahead, which weakens it...thus sagging under its own weight..and it sends water back along both sides of the hull reducing ice friction.
