Yermak (icebreaker)
Also referred to as Ermack.
The first Yermak (Russian: Ермак) was a Russian icebreaker. It was the first polar icebreaker in the world, having a strengthened hull shaped to ride over and crush pack ice.
Yermak was built for the Imperial Russian Navy under the supervision of vice-admiral S. O. Makarov by the members of his commission, which included D. I. Mendeleev, engineers N. I. Yankovsky and R. I. Runeberg, admiral F. F. Wrangel, among others. It was constructed at the Walker-on-Tyne, Newcastle, yard of Sir W. G. Armstrong, Whitworth, and Co. and launched in 1898.
Yermak served with different branches of the Russian and Soviet Navy and Merchant Marine up until 1964.
Another icebreaker with the name Yermak was built for the Soviet Union at the Wärtsilä Helsinki shipyard, Finland in 1974.
The above information is condensed from the Wikipedia entry.
Information on aspects of the design and on the sea trials was provided in Engineering 1899/03/31. The machinery was supplied by the Wallsend Slipway and Engineering Co, to the design of Andrew Laing, the general manager of the company.