Icebreaker
In May 2007, sea trials were completed for the nuclear-powered Russian icebreaker NS . The vessel was put into service by Murmansk Shipping Company, which manages all eight Russian state-owned nuclear icebreakers. The keel was originally laid in 1989 by Baltic Works of Leningrad, and the ship was launched in 1993 as NS "Ural". This icebreaker was intended to be the sixth and last of the "Arktika" class, and currently is the world's largest icebreaker.
Harry DeWolf-class offshore patrol vessel
In 2006 Prime Minister Stephen Harper had spoken about building three to four icebreakers capable of travelling through thick ice in the Arctic Ocean. In 2007 it was announced that the Canadian Forces would purchase six to eight patrol ships having an ice class of Polar Class 5, meaning that they were capable of limited ice breaking, based on the "Svalbard" class. This announcement was met with some controversy, and the proposed ships have been called "slush-breakers", by Dr. Gary Stern, a scientist aboard , and Jack Layton of the NDP. However, it is notable that of the nineteen Canadian Coast Guard icebreakers currently in service, only six have an ice class higher than Polar Class 5.