With total assets of 650,000 Finnish markkas (FIM) the company ordered a new icebreaker, designed by Swedish engineer C. Bagge, from the Howaldtswerke shipyard in Kiel, Germany.

The total cost of the new vessel, christened Avance, was FIM 616,000 and in many respects she resembled the first state-owned icebreaker, Murtaja.

She was found out to be suitable for icebreaking in the sheltered waters within the archipelago, but her wheelhouse had to be made higher shortly after entering service to improve visibility astern.

[1] Maintaining the icebreaker turned out to be more expensive than what was anticipated, and in 1909 the city of Turku purchased the majority of the shipping company's shares.

[5] In August 1914 Russia joined the First World War and the Finnish icebreakers were placed under the command of the Baltic Fleet of the Imperial Russian Navy.

Unable to pay for the extensive repairs, the shipping company sold Avance to the Board of Navigation for FIM 1.58 million.

She was repaired at the Ab Crichton shipyard, who was paid FIM 1.25 million for the work, and on 15 December 1923 her name was translated to Apu, meaning "assistance" in Finnish.

[10] The ship was powered by a 1,500 ihp triple-expansion steam engine driving a single propeller in the stern and giving Avance a maximum speed of 13.5 knots (25.0 km/h; 15.5 mph) in open water.