Ice loads may be conveniently categorized as local ice loads and global ice loads. Local ice loads are often defined as ice pressures acting on local areas of shell plates and stiffeners. Therefore, local ice loads are defined in all ice class rules. However, directly measuring the local ice pressure using the actual ice class vessel is a very difficult task because appropriate instruments for direct measurement must be installed on the outer hull, and they are easily damaged by direct ice contacts/impacts. This paper focuses on the estimation of the local ice pressure using the data obtained from icebreaking tests in the Arctic sea in 2010 using the Korean icebreaking research vessel (IBRV) ARAON. When she contacted the sea ice, the local deformation of the side shell was measured by the strain gauges attached to the inside of the shell. Simultaneously, the contact area between the side shell and sea ice is investigated by analyzing the distribution of the measured strain data. Finally, the ice pressures for different contact areas are estimated by performing a structural analysis.