OREANDA-NEWS. Two more Icebreaker pilot boats delivered to Estonian pilots. Known to be only in the world so small diesel electric icebreaking pilot boat, Baltic Workboats PILOT-160 has been successfully used in heavy ice conditions in Estonian, Latvian and Ukrainian ports for more than 5 years. Estonian pilot organization “Eesti Loots” has hi-lighted 16 meter icebreaker pilot boat good performance and excellent ice capability. Boat has steel hull from12 mm plates with framespace 300 mm. Together with aluminum superstructure and all equipment it makes together displacement of 60 tons. Boat is driven by one fixed pitch propeller which is directly powered by 630 kW electric motor feed though two frequency convertors by two 426 kW DI16 Scania/Leroy Somers gen-sets. Boats are normally operated with one gen-set only. Two gen-sets are required only in heavy ice conditions.

Boat's proven special icebreaker design and benefits attained from diesel electrical propulsion concept have given her excellent ice-going capability (up to 50 cm thick ice) and new operational (maximum torque with minimum rpm-s) and economical (low fuel consumption) dimension.

Baltic Workboats has earlier delivered 3 units of same design conventional diesel engine driven icebreaker pilot boats for Sweden and Latvia.