An icebreaking arrangement in which air is applied under sufficient pressure to lower the surface of the water at an ice-water interface to a level below the bottom of the ice over an area which extends on either side of the interface. The unsupported weight of the ice in the region in which the water level is depressed produces failure and breaking off of pieces of ice at the interface. The increased pressure is produced by an air-tight platform having a downwardly extending skirt around the periphery, air under pressure being admitted to the region below the platform. The platform may be mounted on the bow of a ship or moved ahead of a ship to clear a channel through the ice.
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