Icebreaker

An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters, and provide safe waterways for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller vessels, such as the icebreaking boats that were once used on the canals of the United Kingdom.

For a ship to be considered an icebreaker, it requires three traits most normal ships lack: a strengthened hull, an ice-clearing shape, and the power to push through sea ice.

Icebreakers clear paths by pushing straight into ice pockets. The bending strength of sea ice is so low that usually the ice breaks without noticeable change in the vessel's trim. In cases of very thick ice, an icebreaker can drive its bow onto the ice to break it under the weight of the ship. Because a buildup of broken ice in front of a ship can slow it down much more than the breaking of the ice itself, icebreakers have a specially designed hull to direct the broken ice around or under the vessel. The external components of the ship's propulsion system (propellers, propeller shafts, etc.) are at even greater risk of damage than the vessel's hull, so the ability of an icebreaker to propel itself onto the ice, break it, and clear the debris from its path successfully is essential for its safety.

CCGS Henry Larsen

CCGS Henry Larsen is a Canadian Coast Guard T1200-class Medium Arctic icebreaker serving in the Newfoundland and Labrador Region and based in St John's, Newfoundland.

Design

A "Medium Gulf/River Icebreaker", the vessel is named after Henry Larsen, the commander of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police patrol vessel St. Roch which was the first vessel to traverse the Northwest Passage in a single season.

The Canadian Coast Guard has two vessels in their "Heavy Icebreaker" class, and four in the "Medium Gulf/River Icebreaker" class. These are their only vessels capable of year-round operation in the high Arctic. These vessels all have a helicopter hangar and can carry and maintain a Bo 105 helicopter, which is used for logistical purposes, as well as ice-spotting, and search and rescue.

Service history

A 2004 voyage of this vessel is the subject of the documentary film "Ice Breaker".

In 2008 Discovery Channel filmed an episode of *Mighty Ships on Henry Larsen as she did an ice patrol around Notre Dame Bay of Newfoundland.

Ice Breaker (video game)

Ice Breaker is a puzzle game by Nitrome Limited, released on Miniclip on January 5, 2009. Ice Breaker: The Red Clan and Ice Breaker: The Gathering were sequels released afterwards. An iOS adaption entitled Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage was developed by Rovio Stars Ltd. and released June 20, 2013.

Gameplay

The game sees the player guide frozen Vikings to their boat by cutting ice blocks with the mouse or finger.

Critical reception

Miniclip games

TechNonsense said of the first 2 games, "It’s a good brain trainer if you have spare time. I love its background music." MiniclipGameRater gave IB:RC 3.5 stars, commenting "The object of the game is simple to understand" and "The levels are challenging", while adding "The levels have not changed much since the old game" and "The are some images not suitable for children under 10". Chip gave Ice Breaker: The Gathering a 3/5, writing "Conclusion: "Ice Breaker: The Gathering" is a fun flash game that makes boredom a foreign word."

iOS game