The Soya was a Japanese icebreaker, research and supply vessel from the Second World War and the post-war period. The unit was launched in February 1938. At the end of the service, the ship was 83.5 m long, 13.5 m wide, and had a displacement of about 4,100 tons. The maximum speed was 12-13 knots. The Soya was originally built to order for the Soviet Union as a commercial vessel adapted to navigate the northern waters, with floating ice. Its original name was Wooczajewiec. However, due to political tensions on the Tokyo-Moscow line, the ship was not handed over to the ordering party, and the ship initially became the property of one of the Japanese shipping lines, bearing the name Chiryo Maru. In 1939, however, it was confiscated by the Navy, and from 1940 (under the name of Soya), it served as a research and ammunition transport vessel. The vessel happily survived the war, and in 1950 was converted into the first Japanese Arctic exploration vessel. In the period 1956-1962, the ship traveled on the Japan-Antarctic route, conducting research and delivering supplies to the Japanese Showa polar base (another name: Syowa). In 1978, the Soya was decommissioned and converted into a museum ship.