Nuclear-powered icebreaker
On 17 August 1977, NS "Arktika" ("Arctic") became the first surface ship ever to reach the North Pole. "Arktika" was withdrawn from service in 2008 after clocking up 175,000 hours of reactor operation time and covering more than 1 million nautical miles. Rather than be scrapped, there are calls for her to be converted to a museum ship, like her predecessor "Lenin".
Murtaja (1890 icebreaker)
In 1889, the Finnish factory owners encouraged the Danish shipping company Det Forenede Dampskibs-Selskab to send their icebreaker, "Bryderen", to the northern Baltic Sea and try to open a path to the icebound port of Hanko. "Bryderen", the most powerful icebreaker in Europe at that time, had steam engine and could easily break ice up to thick. As word got around, people in the Senate of Finland became interested in the experiment as its result would affect the general opinions regarding icebreakers and winter navigation.