Sisu

Sisu was a Finnish state-owned icebreaker. Built in 1939 at Wärtsilä Hietalahti Shipyard in Helsinki, she was one of the world's first diesel-electric icebreakers. In addition to icebreaking duties, she served as a submarine tender for the Finnish Navy during the summer months until the end of the Continuation War. In 1975, Sisu was handed over to the Finnish Navy and renamed Louhi. She was decommissioned in 1986 and sold for scrap. Development and construction While the economic growth stagnated in Finland in the early 1930s following the Great Depression, international trade began to recover relatively soon and in particular the export of forest products from the ports in the Bothnian Bay was growing. Already in 1932, a delegation from Northern Ostrobothnia submitted a proposal for the construction of a new state-owned icebreaker. In 1935, another large delegation of politicians and representatives from coastal cities proposed expanding the state-owned icebreaker fleet. They were also strongly supported by the growing Finnish forest industry.