The Samp is an icebreaker docked in Kemi, a major seaport city in the Finnish Lapland region, specializing in passenger icebreakers for tourist cruises. As of 2013, the Samp is Finland’s most distinctive “excellent tourism product” and has received nearly 200,000 visitors from more than 50 countries around the world. The Samp cruise starts at the port of Ajos in Kemi City and takes about four hours. The Sampson icebreaker cruise runs from mid-December to early May of the following year. Every winter from December to May, the northern part of the Gulf of Podnia forms a few feet of sea ice. According to the historical meteorological records of the Finnish Meteorological Agency, the average ice age at Ajos port in Kemi is 177 days per year; for nearly 20 years, despite the challenges of global warming, the annual ice age at Ajos port has remained between 140-196 days. In the face of the frozen sea, the icebreaker became an essential vehicle. The Samp has been in service on the ice sea in the Gulf of Podnia since 1961. In 1987, Samp became the first professional icebreaker in the world to specialize in tourist cruises.