Port of Linz: First use of the icebreaker this winter
Winter has come to the port of Linz. Temperatures have recently been below freezing and resulted in an ice layer about three centimeters thick in the two shipping channels in the tanker harbor. Therefore, the ship named MS Eduard moved off on 22 January, to free the docks from their ice cover. After about an hour, the ice in the tank harbor was broken.
Now an eye is kept on the weather conditions. If the temperatures will drop lower in the next few days, the ice layer might continue to grow. In this case, MS Eduard will be put to use again, to ensure the docks in the port of Linz remain ice-free.
Weighing a total of around 60 tonnes and almost 22 meters long, MS Eduard is battling its way through the ice. The steel-reinforced bow and an approximately one centimeter thick steel sheet – around the hull at the level of the waterline – protect the ship from the hard ice cover.
The last time MS Eduard was being used continuously was in January 2017. At that time, temperatures were well below freezing for days.
All shipping channels in the Linz trading port must remain open for shipping and hence ice-free, ie the ice must be broken, so that goods transported on the Danube can also be handled safely. In addition, more than 20 cruise ships have moored in the trading port throughout the winter.