[7] In the 1860s there were plans to start year-round traffic from the Hanko, the southernmost tip of the continental Finland, but even people in the Finnish Pilot and Lighthouse Authority were doubtful about the project – the director's aide was quoted saying that this close to the 60th parallel north winter traffic to Hanko would forever be a distant dream.

[8] In 1889, the Finnish factory owners encouraged the Danish shipping company Det Forenede Dampskibs-Selskab to send their icebreaker, Bryderen, to the northern Baltic Sea and try to open a path to the icebound port of Hanko.

Bryderen, the most powerful icebreaker in Europe at that time, had 1,000 ihp (750 kW) steam engine and could easily break ice up to 45 centimetres (18 in) thick.

As word got around, people in the Senate of Finland became interested in the experiment as its result would affect the general opinions regarding icebreakers and winter navigation.

[9] On 16 April 1889, two steamships were spotted approaching the lighthouse of Russarö from the south and news about unidentified vessels coming through the ice field began spreading immediately.

[12] Shortly after the visit of Bryderen, the Senate sent a call for bids for several Finnish and foreign shipyards for the construction of a steam-powered icebreaker capable of breaking a 32-foot (9.8 m) channel.

Her draught at full load exceeded the contract specification by 1 foot 6 inches (0.46 m), meaning that either her specialized hull form could not be fully utilized in icebreaking or the coal capacity would have to be reduced, affecting her range and endurance.

[14] However, the shipyard promised to do everything it could to reduce the draught of the vessel to an acceptable level and Murtaja, the largest and most powerful European icebreaker at that time, was delivered to the owner on 30 March 1890.

[21] In August 1914 Russia joined the First World War and navigating in the Baltic Sea became dangerous due to naval mines and German U-boats.

The Finnish icebreakers were placed under the command of the Baltic Fleet of the Imperial Russian Navy and given the task of assisting naval ships and troop transportations in the Gulf of Finland.

From the beginning the Finnish officials attempted to negotiate the return of the icebreaker, but it wasn't until 5 April 1918 before Murtaja was handed back to Finland.

Murtaja spent the early stages of the war in Viipuri and assisted supply ships to the port of Koivisto.

[29] As more modern icebreakers entered service in the 1920s, Murtaja was again deemed obsolete and worn-out, and she was criticized for her high operating costs.

She was said to be in need of complete overhaul and rebuilding in 1926, but the Finnish Board of Navigation did not agree to this until almost ten years later, although it noted that decommissioning her would probably be a better solution.

[4] The round bow of Murtaja was modeled after Eisbrecher I, a German icebreaker designed by engineer Ferdinand Steinhaus from Hamburg and built in 1871, even though Robert Runeberg, an experienced Finnish naval architect and son of the national poet of Finland, had recommended a sharper ice-cutting bow instead of the spoon-shaped one.

[2] Murtaja was powered by a 1,600 ihp two-cylinder tandem compound steam engine driving a four-bladed propeller in the stern.

[2] The icebreaker could achieve a speed of 12.5 knots (23.2 km/h; 14.4 mph) in open water, although her seakeeping characteristics were extremely poor due to the specialized hull form.

[32][33] In case of engine failure Murtaja was initially equipped with two staysails and two Bermuda sails, although they were rarely, if ever, used and disappeared from the inventory in the 1920s.