''Sampo'' is a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

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 ...

built in 1960 in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

and now stationed in Kemi.

History

The ''Sampo'' has a long and distinguished service record. The massive vessel, which was completed in 1961, was built to operate in extreme arctic conditions. In the northern part of the Gulf of Bothnia it kept lanes free for shipping for nearly 30 years. Its predecessor of the same name (1898–1960) was the first icebreaker in Europe with a propeller in the bow and stern. The ship is now used for

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

cruises. The town of Kemi bought ''Sampo'' from the National Board of Navigation in the year 1987. The price of the vessel was 19 pennies per kilogram i.e. 1 million Finnish Mark (about €167 000 ). Just by making a purchase decision ''Sampo'' got the Finnish Tourist Boards reward of Best Tourism Product of the year 1987.

Sampo in tourism

During the late winter 1988 ''Sampo'' started its career in tourism. ''Sampo'' made its first cruise 14.4.1988 with foreign and domestic media. In the year 1989 ''Sampo'' had 1000 passengers and in 1994 the record was 6000 passengers. While doing tourist cruises ''Sampo'' also kept lanes free for shipping in the northern Gulf of Bothnia. The home port of ''Sampo'' is Ajos in Kemi. During the summer time ''Sampo'' stays in its home port but during the wintertime it makes tourist cruises in the Gulf of Bothnia. During the cruise tourists have the chance to go down from the icebreaker and float in the sea dressed in arctic rescue dry suits. They can also participate in the guided ship tour and to get to know the icebreaker from the engine room to the bridge. ''Sampo'' can take 150 passengers at a time. Yearly ''Sampo'' takes about 10000 tourists on cruises, and in total there have been passengers from over 50 countries.

External links

Icebreaker Sampo

Video Clips of Sampo

Video: Trip to Sampo Icebreaker
Icebreakers of Finland Ships built in Helsinki 1960 ships Kemi {{ship-stub