Contract signing in Stockholm formalizes Korea’s first overseas icebreaker order
PC4 icebreaker will modernize Sweden’s Baltic fleet and anchor HD Hyundai’s push into Arctic-capable vessels
HD Hyundai Heavy Industries President Joo Won-ho (second from left), Swedish Maritime Administration Director General Erik Eklund (second from right) and Korean Ambassador to Sweden Lee Hyung-jong (far left) attend a contract signing ceremony for a new icebreaking vessel at the Swedish National Maritime Museum in Stockholm on April 24.
HD Hyundai Heavy Industries announced on the 24th that it signed a shipbuilding contract with the Swedish Maritime Administration (SMA) for a dedicated icebreaker at a ceremony at the National Maritime Museum in Stockholm. The deal, worth 348.9 million dollars, marks the first time a Korean shipyard has won an overseas order for a purpose-built icebreaker and is HD Hyundai’s first icebreaker project.
The icebreaker will be 126 meters long with a displacement of about 15,000 tons and is scheduled for delivery in 2029. Classified as a Polar Class 4 (PC4) vessel, it will be capable of continuously breaking ice roughly 1.0 to 1.2 meters thick and will feature an electric propulsion system, with provisions for future operation on methanol. According to the SMA, the ship will support icebreaking, fleet assistance, towing, and ice management in the Baltic Sea to keep northern Swedish ports open during winter, when they might otherwise be closed for up to 130 days a year.
HD Hyundai secured the order through an international tender launched by Sweden in 2025 that drew four bids, including one from Norway and two from Finnish yards. The SMA selected HD Hyundai in June 2025, citing price competitiveness, delivery schedule, and technological capabilities as key factors, but the decision was challenged in Swedish courts by a Finnish competitor. The Administrative Court upheld the award in favor of the SMA, and the Court of Appeals later declined to hear the case, clearing the way for the contract to be signed in April.
At the signing ceremony in Stockholm, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries President Joo Won-ho and SMA Director General Erik Eklund discussed the significance of the project and future cooperation. The icebreaker is part of Sweden’s broader effort to modernize its aging icebreaking fleet and to secure reliable winter access to critical export and import routes in the Baltic. For HD Hyundai, the order is seen as a strategic foothold in the global market for naval and special-purpose ships that require ice-class capabilities, at a time when interest in Arctic shipping routes and polar research is increasing.
HD Hyundai Heavy Industries plans to use this project to showcase its competence in high-value, technologically demanding vessels and to target additional icebreaking and polar-capable orders from Europe and other regions. The company has indicated that the experience gained from the Swedish PC4 icebreaker will support its broader ambitions in military support ships, research vessels, and commercial ships designed for harsh environments.
By Min Byung-kwun, KDFN
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