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 "Arktika" was withdrawn from service in 2008 after clocking up 175,000 hours of reactor operation time and covering more than 1 million nautical miles.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".
Royal Arctic Line
The three largest ships the "Naja Arctica" (782 Twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU)), "Nuka Arctica" (782 TEU), and "Mary Arctica" (588 TEU) are principally used for the Aalborg route. The "Irena Arctica" (424 TEU), "Arina Arctica" (283 TEU), and "Pajuttaat" are used within Greenland and have equipment for unloading in cities without harbors. All these container ships are double-hulled and built with high freeboards and the highest ice ratings: the "Mary Arctica" has even been chartered for Antarctic service. The settlement ships "Angaju Ittuk", "Anguteq Ittuk", "Aqqaluk Ittuk", and "Johanna Kristina" are all older and smaller (220–320 m³) and used for supplying the smaller ports. In 2011, the ships had an average on-time rate of 72%.