Only six days after the agreement for the formation of the company was signed between STX Finland Cruise Oy and United Shipbuilding Corporation on 10 December 2010, the newly founded Arctech Helsinki Shipyard received an order for two multipurpose icebreaking supply vessels from the Russian state-owned shipping company Sovcomflot.

[11] Although initially set for the same delivery date in April 2013, Vitus Bering will be delivered four months ahead of schedule in December 2012.

Aleksey Chirikov is an upgraded version of SCF Sakhalin, a similar icebreaking platform supply vessel built at Helsinki in 2005.

[15] Several modifications have been made to the original design, including adding a fourth main engine, but the hull form is nearly identical.

The four Wärtsilä[16] diesel generating sets — two twelve-cylinder 12V32 and two six-cylinder 6L32 engines — have a combined output of 18,000 kW (24,000 hp) and provide power for all shipboard consumers, including two 6.5 MW ABB Azipod VI1600 propulsion units.