CNN article fails to mention that tanker is an icebreaker.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/aug/24/russian-...
"On its maiden voyage, the innovative tanker used its integral icebreaker to cross ice fields 1.2m thick"
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/aug/24/russian-...
"On its maiden voyage, the innovative tanker used its integral icebreaker to cross ice fields 1.2m thick"
specially designed to sail independently through ice as thick as 2.1 meters
Does that make it "an icebreaker"? The 2 articles seem to use the term to describe a ship specifically designed to break ice, e.g. "massive, nuclear-powered Russian icebreakers", not a cargo transport ship.
> But the Christophe de Margerie, named for a former CEO of French oil giant Total, is specially designed to sail independently through ice as thick as 2.1 meters (nearly 7 feet), its owner said.
So, the article is interesting but the stated "first" seems like it would have happened anyway, because the ship was designed specifically for the task.