A field investigation was conducted to analyze the interaction between a tugboat and ice floes during ice-breaking operations in actual ice conditions and the resulting ice channel contraction. The Hertz-Mindlin contact model, implemented through the CFD-DEM numerical analysis software, was used to simulate the fluid-solid coupling between the ice floes and the vessel. A full-scale two-car tugboat was selected as the study object, and the forces acting on the hull under different speeds and ice thicknesses were calculated. The interaction forces between the ship and the ice were obtained and compared with empirical formulas for validation. In the post-processing phase, the simulation results were analyzed to determine the impact of the propeller wake on the vessel’s resistance performance, as well as the variation of ice resistance with different experimental factors such as ship speed and ice thickness. This research provides valuable data and practical insights for studies on winter navigation conditions.