To effectively monitor the total longitudinal bending moment of icebreakers, an improved shape function method and a measurement point layout strategy were introduced to enhance the accuracy of hull bending moment identification. First, through numerical analysis, hull section of an icebreaker was taken as the research object, and the solution strategy applicable to the shape function method and its regularization parameter selection strategy were investigated. Subsequently, to address the complex stress distribution of icebreakers, a measurement point layout strategy was proposed and validated. The results show that both the L-curve criterion and the hard threshold selection strategy can improve the accuracy of the improved shape function method. The proposed measurement point layout strategy can effectively improve the stability of bending moment identification. The bending moment identification scheme established in this study provides an improved approach for bending moment identification of icebreakers.