Helsinki Shipyard is building icebreakers and defense vessels, and it says expedition cruise ships have not left its program. The yard was recently selected to build Finland's newest icebreaker, the Aino, scheduled for delivery in 2029. Hull assembly of the Polar Max, a large heavy icebreaker built under a Finland-Canada production model, began at the yard in May 2026. Two Arctic Security Cutters are being built for the U.S. Coast Guard under a $3.5 billion Davie Defense contract, with the first due in 2028.
Operators may wonder where passenger vessels fit in that orderbook. According to Jussi Lehtinen, vice president of sales and projects, they never went away. He said cruise ships and specialized passenger vessels still remain a core part of the yard's strategy and competence base. The current orderbook is led by major icebreaker programs, but the yard continues to actively pursue all opportunities in the cruise and passenger vessel market.
Passenger vessels are still a core part of the strategy
The yard's last three cruise deliveries were the Swan Hellenic expedition ships Minerva, Vega and Diana, completed between 2021 and 2023. That gives the yard a recent record in polar passenger construction. The icebreaker expertise behind the current orderbook is also what makes the yard attractive to expedition operators, since cold-water construction and Arctic-rated systems carry over to passenger ships.
A covered dock can build cruise ships up to 70,000 tons
The covered 280-meter graving dock is the same facility being used to assemble the Polar Max. It can build cruise ships of up to 70,000 tons. The surrounding Finnish maritime cluster adds expertise in Arctic-rated systems, sustainable propulsion and environmentally sensitive design.
Lehtinen said the yard's particular strengths are in technically demanding, high-value vessels where the operating environment, performance, sustainability and, most of all, passenger experience are priorities. Expedition ships fit that profile. They operate in cold water, use Arctic-rated systems and are being built with an eye on sustainable propulsion.
Davie ownership and net-zero research broaden the yard's options
Davie's 2023 acquisition of the yard, under the Inocea Group, has significantly broadened what it can take on. A 200 million euro investment program is underway across the Helsinki and Pori facilities. It includes an intermediate gate in the drydock that lets the yard run more projects at the same time.
The yard built the Polaris in 2016, one of the world's first LNG-powered icebreakers. It is also part of the EU's MARPOWER project, which is developing energy conversion systems for net-zero fuels including green hydrogen and methanol.
Lehtinen said that for cruise lines, Helsinki can combine its established passenger-vessel and Arctic design expertise with technologies that support increasingly ambitious environmental and operational requirements. The statement is aimed at operators planning new polar tonnage, not at travelers booking a specific voyage. The report appears in the Fall 2026 Cruise Industry News Quarterly Magazine.
Expedition buyers who track new polar tonnage can ask an operator where its next ship will be built. Helsinki Shipyard is now a named answer, with recent polar cruise deliveries and a stated commitment to passenger work.