The history of ice model testing in Finland began when W�rtsil?Icebreaking Model Basin ( WIMB ) was opened in a converted air raid shelter in Helsinki in 1969 . The second ice test basin in the world, preceded by and modeled after the 1955-built Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute in Leningrad, Soviet Union, was a result of co-operation between W�rtsil?and SS " Manhattan ".
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Although Finnish icebreaker captains voiced their concerns about the maneuverability and icebreaking capability of a vessel without bow propellers especially in heavy ice ridges and at crawling speeds, extensive model testing at W�rtsil?s new ice model test basin showed that the ice resistance could be reduced by replacing the bow propellers with a " clean " hull and adopting an air bubbling system to lubricate the hull.
