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What kind of ship is adapted for polar voyages? The early voyages of discovery have been made using wooden ships and the technology evolved up to Nansen's Fram. Nowadays metal hulls are the norm and the vessels are classified in a system of "ice classes". Icebreakers are a world apart and they have their own classification. Some of them are very large and have considerable engine power that allows them to navigate through the polar ice at all seasons . With the opening of the northern routes more commercial ships will be built to an ice class and some are already in service