september 2017 arcticpassionnews

September 2017

ArcticPassionNews

Aker Arctic Technology Inc Newsletter

2 / 2017 / 14

Polaris in ice trialsPage 7

Baltika in arctic icemanagement duties1

In this issuePage 2 From the Managing Director

Page 3 Decades of developing Arctic

LNG carriers

Page Polaris in ice trials7

Page First icebreaking LNG carrier in9

ice trials

Page 1 Baltika in arctic ice1

management duties

Page 1 Brash ice channel project3

continues

Page 14 Ice basics part 2

Page 1 French PLV delivered6

Page 1 Ice transit simulation model7

Page 1 12th Passion Seminar8

Page 1 News in brief9

Page 20 Rowing race

Meet us here

First arctic LNG carrierin successful ice trials

Page 9

2

We are all waiting for next winter, but can already concludethat 2017 will remain remarkable for arctic shippingdevelopment. In the past summer, we have witnessedseveral cross sailings on the main arctic routes, in addition tonew speed records.

One of the major arctic projects ever, the Yamal LNG, willstart with year around LNG shipments with a brand-new fleetof huge and capable ships, which once again will rely onDouble Acting vessel technology which we developeddecades ago. The first in the series of 15, Christophe de

Margerie, sailed the entire Northern Sea Route and deliveredLNG cargo from Norway to Korea. The Finnish icebreakerNordica also set the record as the ship to sail throughearliestthe North-West Passage when it commissioned its Arctic100- expedition, with a number of scientists onboard. On thisroute, already for the second year in a row, the Crystal

Serenity will be undertaking a second commercial cruisevoyage. The Russian nuclear-powered icebreaker, 50 Let

Popedy, also cruised to the North Pole. This voyage wasremarkable for its record time and speed with which she wasable to reach the pole. Although we know that technology,power and the size of ships have developed over the years,one reason for these records is the fact that ice conditionshave become easier in arctic navigation.

Both the NSR and NWP have been known for centuries, butcould it finally be the time for a significant increase andutilization of these routes? Many organizations, and nations,have shown interest and carried out their own studies intothe matter. It seems that with new ship technology, improvedarctic infrastructure and the change of ice conditions, thiscan now be more feasible. Already the transportation formajor industrial production is starting and will add asignificant number of shipments the Russian arctic.in

This sort of activity shows the path forward, and manyother new projects may follow and open the routes to regulartraffic. We have been preparing for this possibility for a longtime already and have developed arctic ships for thispurpose. The next few years will show how quicklyshipments increase.In this issue of Arctic Passion News, you can read aboutdevelopments in various ice classedvessels, including Arctic and Antarctic.

I hope you enjoy the articles and lookwith great interest towards next winterand the opening of new arctic trades.

Reko-Antti Suojanen

Managing Director

Aker Arctic Technology Inc


Sean Ireton has beenappointed Sales andMarketing Managerfor North America. Hehas previouslyworked for Lloyd'sRegister and theCanadian Navy, andmore recently hasbeen freelancing

providing on-site management for new shipconstruction projects.

Front cover:

Christophe de Margerie, the world's first

icebreaking LNG carrier, successfully

completed ice trials in March 2017. Aker

Arctic developed the concept design for

the gas carrier and has been deeply

involved in the entire logistics project for

Yamal LNG.

September 2017

Joakim Konsin hasjoined Aker Arctic asa Naval Architect,specialised in shipdesign. He started atthe Turku office withconcept design.Since graduating in2003 with a M.Sc. in

Naval Architecture, he has worked for twolarge marine equipment producers for 14years.

Jukka Salminen hasjoined Aker Arctic asSales Manager.Jukka graduated asa master marinerfrom Turku MaritimeCollege (Aboa Mare)in 2006. Hepreviously worked forover 11 years with

the Finnish icebreaking company ArctiaLtd., first as a navigating officer onboardthe conventional icebreakers Otso andKontio and then onboard the multipurposeicebreakers Nordica, Fennica and Botnica.During his last years at Arctia, he was thechartering manager responsible forchartering Arctia's icebreakers globally.

Björn Schönbergjoined Aker Arctic inMay 2017 as a NavalArchitect to work inship design andengineering. In thepast, Björn was anaval architect at theMasa-Yards Helsinkishipyard and at

NAPA Ltd. Björn has a special focus onship theory and his main responsibilities atAker Arctic are related to ship stabilitycalculations.

Petri Tolonen hasjoined Aker Arctic asDirector of Sales andMarketing.Previously Petri hasworked at WärtsiläMarine Solutions asthe director of thethruster and PCSproduct line. Before

Wärtsilä, he worked at Steerprop Ltd. andwas President and CEO of the company.Petri has more than 25 years of experiencein international business, mainlyconcerning sales and marketing,and has additionally worked in companiessuch as Metso Paper (known nowadays asValmet) and UPM.

Roumen Tzvetanovjoined Aker Arctic asHead of BusinessDevelopment for Oiland Gas. Roumengraduated from theMoscow PowerEngineering Institutewith an M.Sc. inInstrumentation and

Automatic Control of Nuclear PowerPlants. He holds a Ph.D. in TechnicalSciences from the Institute of ControlSciences, Russian Academy of Sciences.Roumen has extensive internationalexperience in petroleum and powerengineering and has worked in companiessuch as Chevron, Shell, Worley Parsons,Wood Group, Maersk on large projectsincluding LNG Sakhalin II, Wheatstone andBrowse. He has a multidisciplinary careerbackground and a solid portfolio of designstudies, management and coordination inoil and gas projects.

Risto Kurimo retiredfrom Aker Arctic inJune 2017. Heworked in theindustry for almost 40years (since 1978),mainly as ahydrodynamicspecialist and projectmanager, first at

Wärtsilä Helsinki Shipyard, Valmet HelsinkiShipyard, Aker Finnyards (earlier Masa-Yards and Kværner Masa-Yards) beforejoining Aker Arctic Technology in 2006. Inthe 1990s he was also responsible for thehydrodynamic development of the novel"Azipod" propulsion device in a jointventure project between ABB Industry andKvaerner Masa-Yards Inc. We wish Risto ahappy retirement!

Announcements

Are we on the verge of the arctic opening up to regular shipping?

3

Courtesy of the U.S. Department of State

The use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) has been steadily growing.LNG, which consists mainly of methane, provides cleaner energywith less harmful emissions compared to oil fuel, and with currentenvironmental concerns the need for clean options continues togrow. When vast gas resources in cold areas were found, it wasessential to start developing systems to explore and transportthese resources successfully, economically and safely to themarket. Finnish engineers have been involved in developingtransportation solutions for LNG for a long time.

An artist's impression of an early ArcticLNG carrier design from the mid-1970s:Finnish shipbuilders' proposal for gasturbine powered ships capable ofcrossing the Northwest Passage. AkerArctic's predecessors participated inmany such LNG trade and ship studiesrelated to the Canadian Arctic.

Aker Arctic Technology Inc Newsletter September 2017

The oversea transportation of LNGrequires dedicated ships both in terms ofsize, as LNG is a light-weight cargo, andin terms of how the gas is stored on-board the vessel in its cryogenic liquidform. In fact, LNG 'exists' and isproduced only for storing andtransporting natural gas feasibly in itsdensified form: One cubic metre of LNGbecomes 600 cubic metres of natural gaswhen vaporized back to its gaseous form.

Today there are almost 450 LNGcarriers in service, the majority of whichare large size ships. Some 110 suchships are currently on order. In the mid-1960s, the first commercial LNG carrierswere developed and taken into use inEurope. In the early 1970s, LNGdeliveries expanded to Japan. The twomain LNG carrier types used today arederived from those ships. These are theso-called membrane- and Moss-typeships, which have both later developedsub-types and improved versions.

LNG carriers for cold environmentsEarly Arctic pilot projects in the mid-1970saimed at transporting LNG from theCanadian Arctic to elsewhere in NorthAmerica and to Europe. Relatively largeand high ice class ships were designed

and proposed by Finnish companies. Inthe beginning of the 1980s, some UScompanies issued plans even for Arcticsubmarine LNG vessels. None of thoseplans came true and the development forarctic LNG vessels was halted fordecades.

During the 1980s and 1990s, LNGshipping continued to grow steadily, but ittook place in warm waters andconcerned Middle East gas production.Slowly, however, LNG production beganto expand north towards colder regions.

A breakthrough for LNG transportationin cold areas came when two production

projects for LNG shipments began: theSnöhvit project in Norway (2007) and theRussian Sakhalin II LNG project on the islandof Sakhalin (2009). Both were the first large-scale national LNG projects in areas withwinter conditions. As a result, several iceclass 1C Moss-type LNG carriers were built toserve the projects.

In the early 1970s, some of the first LNGcarriers built in Norway also had the same iceclass 1C, as did the first two PSB-type shipsthat were built in 1993 in Japan and sailed fora long period on the Alaska-Japan route.

Decades of developingArctic LNG carriers

An LNG carrier at Sakhalin gas terminal(Photo courtesy: Sovcomflot)

4


First Arctic LNG designs with thedouble acting icebreaking conceptFor a long time, it has been known thatthere are vast natural resources of oiland gas in the Arctic regions.

Apart from the earlier Canadian LNGprojects, a new era of interest in Arcticgas resources arose at the beginning ofthis century. The first concept ideaswere drafted for Moss-type Arcticcarriers in early 2000, but eventually thegrowing interest in LNG exports from theArctic stimulated Aker Arctic to startdeveloping a solution for LNGshipments. The first Arctic class DAS™ship was designed andNorilsk Nickelbuilt in Helsinki while large LNG Carrierswere on the drawing board.

“In 2004, Aker Arctic kicked-off a largedevelopment programme which aimed tointroduce a vessel design that would beable to bring LNG from the Arctic to themarkets,” says Mr Reko-Antti Suojanen,Managing Director, for Aker Arctic. Thefinal outcome was a three-propellerdouble acting vessel concept, which alsoutilised the special new solution of theIntegrated Hull Structure (IHS), whichprovided easy winterisation solutions aswell as a stronger hull and savings in thesteel weight.

“As the double acting concept wasalready a proven solution, we decided touse a bulbous bow form for thesevessels and thus provide the maximumeffectivity in open sea navigation, which

in any case is used in many of thesecarriers,” says Suojanen.

The design was called the Aker Arctic206,000m , and it was equipped with five³tanks (see picture below). Cost estimatesfor the vessel and economic calculationsshowed that the transportation cost andthe reliability of LNG shipments would behighly suitable for the markets. Theaverage speed of the vessel would besufficient even in the harshest mid-winterconditions from the Kara Sea to theEuropean or North-American markets.

The Yamal peninsula was known for itsvast gas reserves, and at that timeKhrasevey was considered the best placefor a port and LNG liquefaction facility.

Aker Arctic 206,000m IHS design for Arctic LNG transports³from 2006.

Alternative design with the GTT No-96 tanks with a largecapacity of 224,000m . The same propulsion principle with³three propellers was used.

Plan for the Kharasevey Arctic LNG terminal.(Source: Aker Arctic presentation in Quebec 2008)

The complete transport solutionTo solve the transportation problem, thecarrier design is not the only issue.Successful operation also requires theappropriate route selection, the LNGloading solution in a cold environment,specific safety measures, overall portand terminal planning, supporting portice breaker fleet and tug assistance, aswell as various emergency precautionswith the escort icebreakers. All thesediffer considerably from the traditionalsolutions used in LNG terminals in warmwaters around the world.

The entire harbour area needs to beplanned so that it can accommodatelarge cargo vessels. This includes theport icebreakers, support vessels andtugs, which all need to be designedspecifically for the Arctic conditions.Loading and off-loading areas, includingice management procedures for removalof ice, are also essential.

“Safety requirements in all Arcticvessels are equally strict to those ofother vessels, but are of a wider scopedue to the cold environment,” Suojanenadds. Apart from requirements related tosafety as a gas carrier, safety plans haveto be raised to a completely differentlevel. Risk evaluation, risk managementprocedures, evacuation plans, thedistance to habitation or to a safe havenand 'what to do in the case of an

emergency' are all extremely importantelements to consider to minimise risks.

Water depth in the Arctic varies fromdeep to very shallow and this posesadditional challenges in designing largeships, including risks of grounding and

bottom damage to vessels. Navigatorsneed to be alert when sailing in suchregions and should be aware ofunsurveyed areas in Arctic waters withthe risk of icebergs and multi-year ice.

The developed LNG carrier is significantly larger than any previous vesselfor the Arctic: An 80,000 dwt LNG carrier, 70,000 dwt oil tanker and 15,000 dwtmulti-purpose cargo vessel.

Arctic LNG carrier “Christophe deMargerie” advancing in the Arctic ice.


5

Different cargocontainment systems forLNG Carriers

The cargo containment types for large LNG carriers: Membrane, Moss- and SPB type tanks.

The selection of the LNGcargo containment systemshas a large effect on the shipdesign. Therefore, two tothree of the most commonLNG tank concepts areusually studied and regardedas potential alternatives forArctic LNG carriers.

Arctic LNG carriers for Yamal LNGDuring the past years, the works relatedto Arctic LNG Carriers have focused onmaking plans become reality. From 2010,Aker Arctic has worked for the YamalLNG company supporting itsdevelopment project to design LNG-carriers and related port infrastructureand a port fleet for transporting naturalgas from Sabetta to the marketselsewhere in the world.

“We have been extremely happy tosee our long-term development,persistent work, new ideas and shipsfinally come true. It has been fantastic towork with our clients who have displayedan innovative attitude and the rock solidexpertise, which will make LNGtransports from the Arctic happen,” saysSuojanen.

Regarding ships for the Yamal LNGproject, a series of 170,000 m sized³Arctic LNG carriers that will carry gas toEurope and the Far East from the Yamalpeninsula was proposed. The projectstakeholders made the selection for thepotential builder and the membrane tankconcept.

The carriers need to be large so thatthey can transport a substantial amountof cargo – 16.5 million tons a year. Thenew, but today very common, size classof 170,000 m was also favoured, as it³would allow transhipment operations tosimilarly sized ordinary open water LNGcarriers that can transport gas cargoesfurther to overseas destinations more

economically than the Arctic ships.In addition to the Far East destinations,

the ships will call on a regular basis at theZeebrugge LNG terminal in Belgium wherethe transhipment of cargoes via onshorestorage will also take place.

The first Arc7 Arctic LNG Carrier“Christophe de Margerie”The first real Arctic LNG carrier, the“Christophe de Margerie”, is currently

in service and will start regular LNGshipments later this year from Sabettaport in the Yamal peninsula. Her sisterships will join the fleet of 15 ships, one byone as they are completed and the LNGplant has reached its full capacity of 16.5million tons of LNG a year. Read moreabout the in itsChristophe de Margeriefull-scale ice tests last winter on page 9.

5

6


Integrated Hull Structure: Moss cargo tanks are covered by a structurally continuous cover, common to all cargo holds, whichimproves hull strength.

Today, the so-called -type shipMembraneconcepts are used for the majority of largeLNG carriers. Specific to the membranetank system are the prismatic shape ofthe cargo tanks and the double internaltank insulation system with thin fluid tightlayers.

Moss tank ships are distinguished bytheir robust, spherical, self-supporting,cargo tanks that extend halfway abovemain deck and are covered by similarlyshaped tank covers.

A third containment type suited forlarger ships is the SPB tank thatresembles the membrane tank concept inshape, but is another self-supporting androbust tank type, which has becomesuccessful only recently. However, the firsttwo SPB concept based ships were builtalready in 1993 in Japan.

“The main LNG cargo containmenttypes differ from each other quite muchalthough they all serve the samepurpose,” says Senior Designer MauriLindholm. “During transportation LNG iskept at atmospheric pressure in wellinsulated tanks. The cargo is slowlyboiling and will maintain its low boilingtemperature during the entire voyage. Thevaporized gas, the boil-off, is utilised asgas fuel for propulsion. More fuel gas canbe generated from the ship's LNG cargowith heat. Or, the rest of the requiredenergy comes from oil fuel, as usual.”

Any new LNG carrier builder needs tochoose their own or their client'sfavourite tank concept and will thereafterusually stick to it.

“The reason is that the different tankconcepts have totally different andspecific materials, production, assemblyand quality assurance methods, and thebuilding yard needs to make large, long-term investments. Additionally, the tankconcepts are licensed by theirdevelopers,” adds Lindholm.

Interest towards smaller sized LNGfeeders and bunker ships has grownrapidly in line with the growing use ofLNG as ship's fuel. Pressure vesseltype tanks have proven be the mostfeasible solution. Similar tank typeshave been used for decades intransporting other gas cargoes that arein refrigerated or pressurized form.Smaller LNG ships with a cargocapacity from 1,000 to 35,000 m fitted³with such tanks are becoming morecommon.

Finnish designsAt the beginning of the1990s, Finnishengineers in Turku began furtherdeveloping the well-known Moss-tankand ship concept in order to createimproved solutions; ships with fewer butlarger tanks and based on new tankproduction methods.

Four Moss-type vessels built in1996/1997 are still delivering LNG fromthe United Arab Emirates to Japan on along-term basis. They were the first

CYLINDRICAL INSERTat the equator of thespherical tank

larger carriers with only four sphericalcargo tanks.

Somewhat later, the experiences fromthe modern Moss ship design processproduced two new Finnish innovationsrelated to the Moss cargo containmentsystem.Aker Arctic is marketing an IntegratedHull Structure (IHS) concept – anextension to the Moss ship concept thatis especially favourable for Artic tradewith several advantages compared toconventional gas ship concepts. In theIHS concept the individual tank coversare constructed into one continuous hullelement for improved hull strength andreduced steel weight.

The other innovation is “tankstretching” meaning the spherical tanksare fitted with an extension ring in themiddle for increased cargo capacity. Bynow the present Moss ship builders haveconstructed tens of such ships.

“Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Japanand Hyundai Heavy Industries in Koreahave been using our patented IHS-technology in their building projects foryears,” says Suojanen.

“It is worth mentioning that bothinventions can be utilised in the sameship design as is the case with theJapanese 'Sayaendo' concept, anunusual Moss-type ship series builtlately,” Lindholm adds.

“Seri Campaka” – The third ship in a series of five IHS-Moss type LNG carriers fora Malaysian owner built by Hyundai Heavy Industries. The hull design with itscontinuous tank cover is based on Aker Arctic's “IHS” concept with improved hullstrength and reduced steel weight.

Tank stretching: Moss cargo tanks madelarger by inserting a vertical extension inthe middle. The ship's steel hull remainsalmost unchanged.

7


The world's first LNG fuelledicebreaker, , wasPolarisofficially tested in full-scale icetrials towards the end of herfirst icebreaking season, inMarch, in the Bay of Bothnia.

Polaris is able to turn 180 on the spot in ice in one minute°and 15 seconds. Her turning ratio (= turning diameter per shiplength) is approximately 1, meaning she can make a circle herown length.

A team of four experts from Aker Arctic:Topi Leiviskä, Toni Skogström, TuomasRomu and Juha Ala oini, joined thesvessel for five days to supervise thetrials. The purpose of the ice trials was toensure that the fulfils all designPolarisrequirements.

“On the first day, after we left from theport of Oulu, we went looking for ademanding ridge field,” explains Head ofResearch and Testing Services TopiLeiviskä. “We found one ridge that wemeasured to be 10 metres thick and 95metres wide, which penetratedPolariseasily going forward.”

The other ridge found, was measuredto be 13.6 metres thick and 50 metreswide.

“Moving astern through the secondridge, the captain wiggled the Azipodsslightly, and jointly with Arctech Helsinkishipyard, the shipowner'srepresentatives and the captain weconcluded that the ridge penetrationcapacity was excellent. This was one ofthe original requirements of the vessel,”says Leiviskä.

Closer to Kemi, tests were performedin an ice channel. This ice channel stays

broken all winter, but is filled with brashice, which was measured to be 174 cmthick. reached a speed of 14Polarisknots in the channel without anytrouble.

For the level ice tests, the icestrength was measured to be 600 kPa.

Moving forward the speed was 12knots in 81 cm thick ice, andthrough 72 cm thick ice it was 12.7knots. Moving astern the speed in77 cm thick ice was 11.2 knots,and in 72 cm thick ice it was 12.2knots.

Polaris’ unique conceptshines inice trials

8

Pola

r R

ese

arc

h Inst

itute

of C

hin

a


Extremely agile

On the last evening, the icebreaker, Sisu,was assisting a merchant vessel stuck inice. The Aker Arctic team had the chanceto see Polaris in real action, when sheeasily flushed and cleaned the ice awayaround the vessels so that they couldmove again.

This ice channel close to Kemi stays open all winter, but is filled with brash ice, whichwas measured 174 cm thick. Polaris managed 14 knots in the channel without anytrouble.

Toni Skogsröm cutting out blocks of icefor measurements.

Turning tests were performed in 60-90 cmthick ice and went extremely well.

°“ is able to turn 180 in ice on thePolarisspot in one minute and 15 seconds. It isalmost unbelievable how agile and easyshe is to manoeuvre,” Leiviskä says.

“Her turning ratio (= turningdiameter per ship length) isapproximately 1, meaning shecan make a circle her ownlength, which is quite impressivefor a vessel her size.”

On the last evening, the icebreaker, ,Sisuwas assisting a merchant vessel stuck inthe ice. The Aker Arctic team had thechance to see Polaris in real action,when she easily flushed and cleaned theice away around the vessels so that theycould move again.

Polaris is designed to use both LNGand MDO as fuel. The engines' normalmode is to use LNG until the powerdemand reaches a certain limit and thenswitches to MDO automatically.

The ice trials verified that fulfilsPolarisall the design requirements.

Successful first season“During the 2017 winter, turnedPolarisout to be clearly the best icebreaker Ihave ever worked on,” says Captain PasiJärvelin about the first season withPolaris.

”Although the pack ice in thenorthernmost end of Bay of Bothnia wasat times difficult to navigate, due toconstant winds from southwest, I had atno point a feeling of not having enoughpower to manage. The most importantdifference to previous generations oficebreakers was, however, how theagility of the vessel brought so muchpleasure in navigating. Dislodgingcommercial vessels stuck in the iceturned out to be fast and easy.

Apart from a few technical issues, thefirst winter was a real success.”

Technical specificationsTonnage 3,000 DWTLength 110 mBeam 24 mDraught 8 m (design)Draught 9 m (max)

Ice class PC 4 icebreaker (+)

Installed power 2 x Wärtsilä 9L34DF,2 x Wärtsilä 12V34DF,1 x Wärtsilä 8L20DF

Propulsion three ABB Azipod-units,1 x 6MW (bow),2 x 6.5 MW (stern)

Speed 17 knots open water,4 knots in 1.8 m level ice

Endurance 10 days on LNG,20 days on MDO

Crew 16

9

The specifications of the Christophe deMargerie make her a unique vessel. Shewas assigned an Arc7 ice class, thehighest ice class amongst existingmerchant vessels. She is capable ofsailing independently through ice up to2.1 metres thick. According to plans, shewill sail along the Northern Sea Routewestward from Sabetta all year round andeastward for six months of the year (Julyto December). Previously, the summernavigation window on the Northern SeaRoute was limited to only four monthswith an icebreaker escort.

The vessel can carry 172,600 m of LNG³from Sabetta to markets in Europe andAsia. She is 299 metres long and 50metres wide, which means that she iswider than any existing icebreaker. Sheis equipped with three 15 MW Azipodtype propulsion units, which provide ahigh degree of manoeuvrability and allowthe use of the double-acting principle inice conditions.

The official ice trials took place from19th February to 8th March 2017 in theKara and Laptev Seas. They wereattended by participating representativesof the shipyard (Daewoo Shipbuilding &Marine Engineering), key equipmentsuppliers, leading industry research and

design organisations, both Russian andinternational. Teemu Heinonen and ArturNermann represented Aker ArcticTechnology during the trials. The nuclearicebreaker assisted in the50 Let Pobedyice trials.

“It was a very international crowd onthe vessel,” says Development EngineerTeemu Heinonen. “We boarded the shipon the 12th February in Murmansk andleft a few days later towards the BarentsSea, rounding Novaya Zemlya on thenorthern side. On the Barents Sea, weencountered rough seas and very hardwinds with gusts over 30 m/s,but the vessel managed very well inthese tough circumstances.”

First icebreaking LNG carrierin ice trialsThe , theChristophe de Margerieworld's first icebreaking LNGtanker, has successfullycompleted ice trials and berthedat the gas terminal at SabettaPort in the Yamal peninsula inRussia. Aker Arctic developedthe Arctic LNG Carrier vesselconcept, designed the final hullform together with DaewooShipbuilding & MarineEngineering (DSME) andassisted in developing thedesign of the entire logisticsoperations in Sabetta. In addition,a comprehensive model testcampaign for the vessel wascarried out at Aker Arctic.


10

Photo

: Sovcom

flot O

AO


From left: Won-Seok Bae (DSME), Sahng Hyon Lee (DSME), Teemu Heinonen(Aker Arctic), Artur Nermann (Aker Arctic) and Jae-Man Lee (DSME).

Meet Teemu Heinonen

Teemu joined Aker Arctic in 2008 as an assistant at themodel testing facility, while he was still studying. He wrotehis master's thesis about icebreaking at high speeds andgraduated from Aalto University in 2010. During his studies,Teemu also spent time in Svalbard and received valuablefield experience. After graduating, Teemu's work in testingcontinued on a permanent basis with model tests, full-scaletrials and ice measurements, among other things. Today healso contributes to vessel design and works for improvingvessels' ice-going performance.Teemu enjoys sailing, climbing and playing drums to chill.

Exceeding expectationsThe official ice trials began on 19thFebruary in the Kara Sea with vibrationtests. Then followed the officialperformance tests in level ice ahead andastern. The vessel proved her capabilityto move stern-first in 1.5 metres thick iceat a speed of 7.2 knots and head-on at aspeed of 2.5 knots.

In the turning tests, she managed acircle of 1,760 metres in 1.7 metres thickice, against the planned 3,000 metres.

“On the last day of the trials,the ice ridge test wasperformed in an extremelyheavy 15 metres thick iceridge on the East Kara Sea,which the vessel was able topenetrate in her astern mode,demonstrating the benefits ofthe double-acting concept,”Heinonen adds.“The last leg of the journey back toMurmansk was through the Kara Gateon the south side of Novaya Zemlya.”

The vessel's exceptional ice passingand manoeuvring qualities were fullyconfirmed by her ice trials and exceededexpectations. She was delivered toSovcomflot after the trials and undertookher maiden voyage to Sabetta Port usingthe seaway canal,built to allow large capacity vessels tocross the shoal at the river mouth, andthe Arctic basin, both intended foroperation in difficult conditions ofconstant ice drift.

The is the firstChristophe de Margerieof a series of 15 gas carriers, which areplanned to be constructed for the YamalLNG project.

A unique conceptAker Arctic developed the conceptdesign for the gas carrier. The hull formwas developed in cooperation withDaewoo Shipbuilding & MarineEngineering and an extensive number ofmodel tests were performed at AkerArctic's ice laboratory. Multiple studieson how to optimally design Sabettaharbour, and how to take care of thelogistics in the harbour as well as howto best transport the LNG have beenconducted over the past ten years.

“The LNG tanker is unique in manyways and has special features, whichare completely new,” Heinonen says.“She is exceptionally large for an ice-going vessel, but still manages well inthe areas she is planned for. She iswider than any existing icebreaker.The propulsion solution with three

Azipods is also new for a tanker andincreases her manoeuvrability and ice-going capabilities. Also, great attentionto the open-water performance was paidduring the design process and theunique bow form ensures good openwater features for an ice vessel.Additionally, her machinery is of dual-fueltype, using LNG boil-off along withtraditional fuels. Using LNG reducesemissions considerably.”

The wasChristophe de Margeriedesigned and built according to all therequirements set by the Polar Code andis notable for her environmental safety.

Read more about the Christophe deMargerie's ice trials in the official pressrelease www. scf-group. com /en /press_office/ press_ releases / item86398.html

Photo

: DM

SE

The Christophe de Margerietransits in record time

The LNG (liquefied natural gas) tankerChristophe de Margerie finished hertransit passage via the Northern SeaRoute (NSR) with 75,656 tons of LNGonboard in record time.

On 31st July 2017 at 04:30 Moscow time, the tankercrossed meridian 68 35 E (Zhelaniya cape) and startedher passage. On 6th August 2017 at 17:00 Moscowtime, the LNG tanker left the NSR area by crossing line66 05 N (Dezneva cape).

This passage took 6 and a half days,which is a record for transiting NSR.

www.nsra.ru/en/glavnaya/novosti/n13.html

11


The was designed to operate in BalticBaltikaSea conditions. However, after she wasdelivered in 2014, she was taken to the Gulf ofOb for ice trials, and surpassed allexpectations. Gazprom Neft then charteredher as an interim standby vessel for theirArctic Gates terminal, while waiting for twoAker Arctic designed high capacityicebreakers currently under construction atVyborg Shipyard.

Three icebreakersThere are currently three icebreakerssupporting oil tanker operations in the Gulf ofOb: the nuclear escort icebreaker, Vaygach,the icebreaking supply vessel, VladislavStrizhov, Baltikaand the oblique icebreaker, .The takes care of breaking the ice,Vaygachwhich can be up to two metres thick Arctic ice,and escorts tankers to the terminal. TheVladislav Strizhov supports the tankers inmooring. The which is extremely easyBaltika,

to manoeuvre, keeps the ice channel, thetanker mooring site, and all the icebreakers'parking sites clear of brash ice and ice rubble.She uses her vertical side to push the iceaway, her inclined side to smooth the frozenedge of the channel and can also flush brashice around a vessel while remainingstationary. The oblique mode has not beenused for icebreaking, as it is not needed in hercurrent task, and secondly the ice in theregion is often much thicker than the Baltikawas designed for. The oblique mode was,however, tested during ice-trials and showedthat the relatively small icebreaker can createa wide channel in the ice by breaking iceobliquely, just as planned. The is alsoBaltikaconstantly ready for emergency rescue and oilspill response on site.

Aker Arctic's Development Manager, AlexeyShtrek, visited the in the Gulf of Ob inBaltikaMay to gather feedback about her operationsand to inspect that the ice load monitoringsystem on board functions well.

“The feedback from the crew was that noother icebreaker can perform such icemanagement operations as the , even ifBaltikathey are more powerful,” Shtrek says. “Theicebreaker master told me that the vessel iseasy in operation, however requires practiceto steer.”

“The unique asymmetrical hull formtogether with the three free-moving Steerprop

propulsion units, two in the stern and one inthe bow, are a winning concept.”

An ice load monitoring system has beenmeasuring ice loads on the oblique side fortwo years. Data from the measurements willhelp developers learn more about theasymmetrical hull shape.

Successful transportation systemFive years ago, nobody thought it would bepossible to explore this area withtemperatures reaching -40 degrees Celsius inwinter and with high-strength ice up to twometres thick. Three years ago, there was stillnothing in this area during the long winterseasons. Today, there are 250-metre-long and34-metre-wide 42,000 DWT shuttle tankersarriving every second day to the offshoreloading terminal. In May, Gazprom Neftachieved a milestone when the totalcumulative oil shipped from the Arctic Gatesterminal exceeded five million tonnes.

“The transportation system we havecreated for this and other arctic projectsseems to be working well,” says Shtrek.

Aker Arctic developed the powerful AkerARC 130 A icebreaker design to supporttanker loading operations at the terminal. Twovessels, the and theAleksandr SannikovAndrey Vilkitsky, are currently underconstruction at Vyborg Shipyard and will bedelivered this and next year.

The world's first asymmetricalicebreaker has successfullybeen serving as an icemanagement vessel at theArctic Gates oil terminal in theGulf of Ob for two years.

Technical specifications

Length 76.4 mBeam 20.5 mDraft 6.3 m

Diesel-electric power plant with threeWärtsilä 9L26 generating setswith a total output of 9 MW

Three 2.5 MW Steerprop SP60PULLazimuth thrusters, two in the stern,one in the bow

DP system by Navis Engineering

RMRS Icebreaker6

Built-in oil recovery system

The Baltika clears the loading area by pushing the ice away.

Photo

: Gazp

rom

Neft

Baltika proves hercapability inarctic icemanagement

12


An ice load monitoring systemwas installed on board theBaltika in 2014. As she was acompletely new vessel design,Aker Arctic wanted to measurethe ice load effects on the newoblique hull form.

“The ice load monitoringsystem installed on the Baltika

included 22 gauges on the portside of the hull,” says Electrical,IT and Automation Team leaderAntero Jäppinen. “The displayonboard shows only the plaindata from each sensor, instead ofprediction and the more userfriendly graphical user interface,which our current system has.The amount of data that isregistered by the system isaround 1TB per year.”

In the current version of the iceload monitoring system, there aresensors on several locationsaround a vessel's hull. Theresults are also immediatelydisplayed on a monitor for a clearoverview of the load, peak valuesand the predicted ice load insimplified form. This supports the

captain in deciding how toproceed in an ice field and atwhat speed.

Two different types of sensorscan be used, fibre-optic sensorsor traditional strain gaugesensors. The advantage of fibre-optic sensors is that they are freeof any electrical interference andcan easily be installed on bothdry and wet tanks. The mainadvantage of traditional sensorsis the lower price range for theoverall package.

A new feature underdevelopment is to add propulsionmonitoring to the system.

“Our plan is to offer anintegrated monitoring andprediction system for ice loads onboth the hull and the propulsionline in the future,” Jäppinen adds.

They will have a similar propulsion concept tothe , consisting of three azimuthBaltikapropulsion units: two in the stern and one inthe bow of the vessel.

Additionally, Aker Arctic was involved in thedevelopment of the 42,000 DWT shallow-draught icebreaking shuttle tankers that werebuilt specifically to transport oil from the Gulfof Ob to Murmansk. The hull form wasdeveloped in cooperation with SamsungHeavy Industries and the development workalso consisted of ice model testing at AkerArctic's ice laboratory.

Oblique icebreaker conceptThe innovative oblique icebreaker conceptwas the result of an innovation contest in thelate 1990s. The idea was to design anicebreaker which could create a wide channelfor oil tankers, without becoming too large andexpensive. The exceptional concept receivedmuch attention, but construction of the firstvessel only began in 2011 after the RussianMinistry of Transport decided to order one forassisting large vessels in icy harbours.

Meet Alexey ShtrekAlexey Shtrek joined Aker Arctic this year as Development Manager. Heworked previously at the Central Marine Research and Design Institute inSt Petersburg, Russia, and has been involved in joint icebreaker projectswith Finland since 2002. Alexey was also part of the team of expertsinvestigating innovative proposals in icebreaking technology including theoblique icebreaker concept. During 2011-2013, he actively participated inthe feasibility study of the icebreaking LNG carrier for the “Yamal LNG”project. Alexey likes to spend his free time with his wife and two smallchildren, skiing in winter and biking in summer.

The oblique icebreaker has beenBaltikaequipped with a strain gauge sensor basedmeasurement system to measure ice loads. Thesystem has been up and running since 2014.

Ice Load Monitoring System on Baltika

The ice load monitoring system has been operating for twoyears on icebreaker Baltika.

The ice load monitoring system isespecially useful for vessels whichdo not constantly operate in areaswith ice, as it helps the crew tooperate more efficiently and safelyin ice.

The asymmetrical hull form and the threepropulsion units is a winning concept forexcellent manoeuvrability.

13


The project began with gatheringinformation from the main facilitiesworldwide, and defining the parametersfor two different ice channels.

“The guidelines define the thicknessand width of a rule channel, but we knowthat many other parameters affect thechannels resistance as well,” says TopiLeiviskä. “We have now conducted testsin our facilities with different variations inparental ice strength, porosity andcohesion.”

“In order to demonstrate a situationwhere there is no cohesion in the ice, weordered six m of 50 mm sized ice cubes,³

and poured them into the testing basin,”adds Research Engineer, Riikka Matala.“Visually this worked well as you cansee from the pictures below.”

This situation was then compared totests where the brash ice was preparedfrom traditional model ice, whichrepresents another level of ice strengthand cohesion.

These tests show that different waysof preparing the ice give different resultsin channel resistance, and more studiesare required to find the right composition.

“Due to variations in test results, morefull-scale channel test results arerequired to find the best solution,” Matalasays. “The best option would be toperform both model tests and full-scaletests with the same vessel in an icechannel with carefully measuredparameters.”

An additional finding was that aconsecutive test in the same channelgave different results in channels, whichwere made from an FGX model ice(F=fine, G=grained, X=containing freshwater layers). Existing rules or guidelinesdo not regulate how many times a testcan be performed and the model basins

have varying practices in this respect.The results obtained so far are nowbeing analysed and additionalverification tests will be performed. Theplan is to have the project ready by theend of 2017.

FGX model iceAker Arctic uses granular model ice, socalled FGX –model ice (F=fine,G=grained, X=containing fresh waterlayers), which is produced using aspraying method. The NaCl-doped wateris taken from the test basin, and sprayedusing a carriage that moves back andforth above the basin. In spraying, thewater droplets freeze and the model icelayers are formed from small, granularice crystals. The spraying circuit isrepeated as many times as needed toreach the required model ice thickness.

After spraying, the ice strength isadjusted with an adequate freezingperiod. The length of the freezing periodneeded depends on the model icethickness and the target value of flexuralstrength.

Brash ice channel project continuesThere are currently no clearguidelines in the Finnish-Swedish ice class rules onhow to prepare a brash icechannel for model tests. AkerArctic and Aalto Universitytherefore started a joint projectlast year, with the target ofdefining the channel propertiesand production methods.

Brash ice channel in real life.s

Ice cubes represent a situationwhere there is no cohesion in theice. Six m of ice cubes were used³for this test.

The same testperformed in model ice

with more cohesion.

14

Icebreaking aftship hull form–”double acting ship”

Sloping sides increasemanoeuvrability in ice

Centreline skeg improves coursestability

Typical icebreaking bow form


Basics about ice, Part :2

Special features of vessels operating in iceShips operating in ice can be referred toas either “ice-going” or “icebreaking”depending on their mission and generalcharacteristics. Ice-going ships arestructurally strengthened for navigationin ice-covered waters, but often have torely on icebreaker escorts in challengingice conditions. Icebreaking vessels aredesigned to operate independently and,when necessary, break their own paththrough the ice field.

Both ice-going andicebreaking ships have certaindesign features that set themapart from vessels operating inopen water: increasedstructural strength, higherpropulsion power and a hullform fit for purpose.

The icebreaking hull formThe development of an ice-going oricebreaking hull form begins by outliningthe operational conditions of the vesselconcept. This includes: the location(where it will operate), the time (when itwill go there) and the mission (what itdoes once it gets there). This will beused to establish the icebreaking

capability of the built-for-purpose vessel,for example the maximum level icethickness that can be broken in acontinuous motion. As most vesselsoperate in ice for only part of the year,open water performance and seakeepingcharacteristics typically cannot beneglected; sometimes the hull form maybe a compromise between open waterand ice operation. However, someicebreakers feature a no-compromiseextreme icebreaking bow that allowsthem to break very thick ice withrelatively low propulsion power.

An icebreaking hull form is designedto minimize the additional resistanceresulting from hull-ice interaction. Amodern icebreaking bow, characterizedby smooth rounded waterlines and smallflare angles, breaks the ice in the mostenergy-efficient way: by bending itdownwards. Stem and shoulder areasare designed to minimize crushing of theice. After breaking, the ice floes areaccelerated smoothly as they aredisplaced around or submerged underthe moving vessel. Special attentionneeds to be paid to hull appendageswhen designing an icebreaking vessel:for example, a badly designed forefootcan significantly increase the iceresistance.

Icebreaking vessels typically featuresloping sides which serve two functions:they increase the manoeuvrability of thevessel in the ice, which is particularlyimportant for escort icebreakersoperating in close proximity to otherships, and they reduce the ice loads onthe hull structures in compressive ice.

Most modern icebreakers are capable ofoperating in both ahead and asterndirections in the same ice conditions,meaning that the stern hull form isdesigned following largely the sameprinciples as the bow. In addition, thestern must be designed to workefficiently with the selected propulsionsystem. Double Acting Ships (DAS )™combine an ice-going bow with anicebreaking stern, resulting in a vesselthat is capable of operatingindependently in ice in the asterndirection while remaining economical inopen water and light ice conditionswhere it sails bow-first.

Propulsion system designWhile ice-going ships typically featureconventional mechanical shaft lines andrudders like their open watercounterparts, icebreaking vessels havemore variety in propulsion systems: upto four shaft lines or azimuthingpropulsion units, or a hybrid propulsionwith combinations of both. Manyicebreakers have propellers also in thebow of the vessel. This is a result offollowing the same principles as with thehull form: the design is tailoredaccording to project-specific operationalparameters and limitations. Regardlessof the project, the goal is to achieve thedesired icebreaking capability with thesmallest installed power, resulting in avessel that is less expensive and moreeconomical to operate. Whileicebreakers have high propulsion powercompared to other ships, it should bekept reasonable.

The selection of ice class, whichdetermines the general level of icestrengthening for ice-going andicebreaking vessels, is notstraightforward. If it is too low, there is arisk of ice damage due to inadequatestrength and local administrations may

impose traffic restrictions during theworst part of the winter. If it is too high,excessive steel weight will increase theconstruction cost and operationalexpenses, and reduce the amount of fueland cargo that can be carried onboard.

15


While a diesel-electric powertrain isgenerally favoured due to the goodlow-speed torque characteristics ofelectric motors and fixed pitchpropellers due to their simplicity androbustness, a number of icebreakershave been equipped with controllablepitch propellers mechanically coupledto the main engines. In case of thelatter, oversized flywheels aresometimes used to protect the mainengines from sudden torque peaksresulting from propeller-ice interaction.The flywheel also prevents thepropeller from stopping while thevessel is moving, a situation wheremost propeller damage occurs. Openpropellers are usually preferred inicebreaking applications as nozzlesmay suffer from clogging in heavy iceconditions.

Regardless of the selected solution,the design principles regardingstrength are the same: the propulsionsystem components must be strongenough to withstand the propellerscoming in direct contact with the ice.Icebreakers typically use built-uppropellers with detachable blades. Thedesign follows the so-called strengthpyramid where a propeller bladeshould fail before damage to othercomponents occurs. Most icebreakerscarry spare blades and haveprovisions for changing them at sea,but repairing other propulsioncomponents would usually requiredrydocking.

Ice strengtheningBoth icebreaking and ice-going vesselsrequire additional structural strengtheningto be able to operate safely in ice-covered waters. If the ice loads on thehull are excessive, the results can rangefrom small dents in the shell plating tobuckled frames and, in the worst case,loss of watertight integrity and sinking ofthe vessel.

Both ice-going and icebreakingvessels typically have a transverseframing system which distributes the iceloads more effectively than longitudinalframing. High strength steel is typicallyused at least in the ice belt area toreduce weight; using mild steel couldresult in a shell plating thickness of up to50 mm. The basis for ice strengthening isa so-called ice pressure plan where thehull of the vessel is divided into separateregions and a design ice pressure isassigned to each part:

“In addition to classification societyrules, we use our in-house calculationmethods and experience in determiningthe extent of each region and the designice pressure. The hull strengthening isbased on the selected ice class and theoverall operational icebreaking capabilityof the vessel,” Project Engineer, TuomasRomu explains. “In particular, highlymanoeuvrable icebreakers may requireadditional hull strengthening in parts ofthe hull.”

Arctic Shuttle Tankers ”Mikhail Ulyanov”and ”Kirill Lavrov”.

Arctic Module Carriers ”Audax” and ”Pugnax”.

Series of five Arctic Container Vessels. ”Mangystau 1-5". Series of five Shallow DraughtIcebreaking Tugs.

Icebreaking Supply Vessels”Arcticaborg” and ”Antarcticaborg”.

Nuclear Icebreakers ”Taymyr”and ”Vaygach”.

16

Photo: Aalto University


Aker Arctic was awarded the basicdesign contract for the French polarlogistic vessel in June 2015. By January2016, the design work and model testingwas completed. The steel hull wasconstructed in Poland and then towed toConcarneau in France, where the vesselwas outfitted and finalised for the past 7months at Piriou Shipyard.

Inclining tests were performed in May2017, when the vessel was nearly ready.The lightweight and centre of gravity ofthe ship were determined in thesuccessful tests.

In June 2017, open water tests weresuccessfully completed, whereperformances such as speed,endurance, noise and vibrations, turningand manoeuvrability of the vessel weretested.

Positive feedbackProject Manager, Anders Mård, andManaging Director, Reko-Antti Suojanenwere present during the name givingceremony in Concarneau on 12th of Julywhen the vessel was named theL'Astrolabe. Speeches from the Ministerof Overseas, Annick Girardin, and CEOof Piriou, Pascal Piriou, were held beforethe name giving ceremony.

“We received very positive feedbackabout Aker Arctic's efforts on the projectfrom all the parties involved,” says Mård.

The was delivered inL'AstrolabeSeptember 2017. Soon afterwards, shewill be deployed for her first supply

mission to Reunion Island in the IndianOcean, where she will operate as apatrol vessel during the southernhemisphere's winter. From Reunion, shewill sail to Hobart in Tasmania for her firstcargo loading and then continue to theFrench research station, DumontD'Urville, in Antarctica. During thesouthern hemisphere's summer monthsshe will complete four resupply tripsbetween Hobart and Antarctica.

TAAF - the French Southern andAntarctic Lands, IPEV - the French polarInstitute and the French Navy will jointlyown and operate the new logistic vessel.She will replace two existing ships, theL'Albatros and the former L'Astrolabe.

Technical solutionsThe fairly compact sized polar logisticvessel, based on a concept designissued by the French engineeringcompany Marine Assistance, is fitted withtwo shaft lines. Its four main engines areWärtsilä 8L20 engines with a totalpropulsion power of 6.4 MW. Two sets ofengines are connected to one reductiongear on both sides of the ship. Thereduction gears can be connected topower take out (PTO) generators (with500 kW power each), used mainly foroperating of bow thrusters. Theelectricity required by the ship is suppliedby two auxiliary generator sets.All main engines and auxiliary enginesfulfil the IMO's Tier III regulations, withreduced NOx emissions as a result.

The two shaft lines are equipped withcontrollable-pitch propellers (CPP), whichhave the advantage of being able tonavigate the ship at different speedswithout changing the rotation direction ofthe engine. With this setup, the ship alsohas a faster response, which comes inhandy in icy waters.

The vessel is capable of carryingvarious goods onboard, such ascontainers, heavy construction workequipment, pallets and liquid drums in thecargo hold or on the aft exposed deckabove the cargo hold. The ship has adeadweight of about 1,600 tonnes andcan also fit two helicopters.

Model testingIce model tests in the Aker Arctic testbasin verified that the design fulfils allrequirements. The vessel can break 80 cmof level ice at a speed of 2 knots. It iscapable of navigating in areas with secondyear ice and can also sail through astretch of coastal ice with a concentrationof 10/10 up to 1 m thick. Furthermore, itcan penetrate through ice ridges inramming mode.

Aker Arctic also performed theseakeeping model tests in order to ensurethat the vessel can manage in the roughsea conditions of the southern Atlantic.

“We additionally performed resistanceand propulsion model tests in order toobtain more precise information about theperformance of the vessel,” Mårdexplains.

French polar logistic vessel delivered

L'Astrolabe, the new Polar Logistic vessel for France, leftmetropolitan France towards her home port at Reunion island in thesouth of the Indian Ocean to carry on Antarctica missions accordingto the original plans, and schedule.

©2017 Piriou L’ASTROLABE

17


Anders began his career at Aker Arctic inearly 2011 when he was still studying atAalto University. He worked at the icemodel testing facility preparing ice,arranging tests and outfitting the shipmodels. In 2012, he transferred to theship design department as projectassistant for the Chinese researchvessel. A year later Anders finished hismaster's thesis titled, “Experimentalstudy of the icebreaking Trimaran” andgraduated as a naval architect.

Since then he has worked as projectengineer in different research icebreakerprojects and as discipline manager forthe research discipline for the Chineseresearch vessel. For the French polarlogistic vessel, Anders first worked asproject engineer and later as projectmanager.

In his spare time Anders spends timewith his family and friends. He alsoenjoys playing disc golf and the guitar.

Meet Anders Mård

At the core of the model is a route-findingalgorithm, allowing for the efficientcalculation of an optimal route throughthe ice in varying environmentalconditions, while allowing for theavoidance of unsafe ice features,sensitive ecological zones, shallowwaters, and other 'no-go' zones. Theroute can be optimized based on avariety of measures including theshortest distance, the fastest transit

times, or optimal fuel usage. Projectspecific criteria can be developed asrequired to meet client needs.

The model has been developed usinga modular approach, which will allowAker Arctic to interface with a widevariety of data sources, including icedata, weather data, bathymetry, etc. Themodel can be easily extended to includenew data sources through theintroduction of plug-and-play modules.

The new transit model will reduce theoverhead time in extracting ice andenvironmental conditions, allowing AkerArctic to produce results for a widervariety of scenarios in less time. Hence,clients will be able to receive more

comprehensive resultsearlier in their planningprocess.

The model will draw uponAker Arctic's extensivebackground in model testingand full-scale trials toprovide reliable estimationsof performance in ice,combined with modularsupport for interfacing with awide array of data inputsources.

Ice Transit Simulation Modelunder evelopmentdAker Arctic is currently in the process of developing anew simulation model to improve its capability toperform feasibility studies involving ice transits.

Figure . Sample Routing through the North-West Passage during October1

The objective of the new model is toefficiently provide accurate informationon vessel transits in ice infested waters.For destination shipping, the model willbe capable of providing statistics such astransit times, distances, and fuel usage,along with representative routes fortransiting through ice, which can befurther used to determine the optimalnumber of vessels to maintain shippingschedules.

In addition to destination shipping, themodel is capable of determining shipoperational regions based on specifiedcriteria such as ice class, icebreakingcapability, and/or draft limitations. Onesuch application of the model is to allowAker Arctic to assist in the developmentof Polar Water Operations Manuals bydeveloping guidelines for allowableoperating regions based upon the PolarCode's Maximum expected time ofrescue criteria. Based on the location ofpotential rescue assets, the model will becapable of generating maps showing theexpected time for the rescue assets toarrive.

Construction supportIn addition to basic design and testing,Aker Arctic provided technical support tothe shipyard during the entireconstruction period. Aker Arctic'sspecialists visited the shipyard for a fewdays at regular intervals to ensure thataspects necessary for an ice-going shipwere taken into account in theconstruction work.

Mård says it has been a very positiveshipbuilding project and mentionsespecially the tight schedule that wasmaintained from the start of the project.

“As with most Aker Arctic projects, thisis a special vessel which is customdesigned for its intended use. It's a oneof a kind vessel and to keep to schedulewithout delays is an excellentachievement for a shipyard building ahigh ice class vessel for the first time.”

Piriou Shipyard states thatcollaboration with Aker Arctic was foundto be very constructive. "It was a veryinteresting experience for Piriou to shareAker Arctic's experience and skills indesigning and building ice and arcticvessels. Aker Arctic and Piriou teamshave worked together in order to find thebest technical solutions to achieve thevessel's performances and to meet thetight schedule for her delivery. Despitedifferences in cultural and shipbuildingpractices, the two parties have workedtogether with positive dialogue in orderto succeed in this challenging project."

Figure . Sample transit time (in days) for a vessel2originating from Iqaluit, Canada during May.

Photo: PIRIOU Shipyard


Finland took over the two-yearchairmanship of the Arctic Council fromthe United States in May 2017. AleksiHärkönen, the Ambassador for ArcticAffairs from the Ministry for ForeignAffairs of Finland, opened the day andtalked about Finland's goals for thisperiod.

CEO Reko-Antti Suojanen remindedthe audience of the significantmilestones for this year: beginning theIMO Polar Code, Yamal LNG's first arcticLNG project and the first LNG icebreakerPolaris entering into service.

Professor Gary Marquis, Dean of theAalto University School of Engineering,talked about the Aalto Ice Tank, which isbeing significantly improved, as well asthe cooperation with Aker Arctic. Duringthe Arctic Passion Seminar, Aker Arcticand Aalto University signed a co-operation agreement on the joint use ofice tanks for model testing and researchpurposes. The combination of two icelaboratories – Aker Arctic's 75 m longand 8 m wide basin and AaltoUniversity's unique 40-by-40 m squaretank – has resulted in improvedcapabilities particularly for manoeuvringand other operative icebreaking modeltests. The co-operation also brings newopportunities for research in icetechnology.

Tero Vauraste, CEO of Arctia Ltd, thecompany responsible for icebreaking inthe Baltic Sea, presented the firstexperiences of the LNG icebreakerPolaris in the Northern Baltic, where shehas been assisting vessels from Januaryonwards. He said the vessel has provedto meet all operational expectations andthe selected hull and propulsion conceptprovide significant operational benefitscompared to older vessels. He added

that the has proved, that thePolarisdesign supports more effective andquicker assistance to meet the risingdemands for icebreaker capabilities andthe new challenges from the assistedvessels such as new EEDI designs.Mikhail Grigoryev, Director for GECON,gave an update on the economicdevelopment of the Russian ArcticZone, including the forecasted freighttraffic and the foreseen tasks ahead forshipbuilding.

Polar expedition cruises arebecoming increasingly popular but areassociated with safety risks if the cruisevessels are not designed for cold andice. Director Nicolas Dubreuil andCaptain Etienne Garcia fromCompagnie du Ponant gave aninteresting presentation of their polarexpedition cruises and how they assessthe risks involved to keep passengerssafe.

Aker Arctic has been assistingDaewoo Shipbuilding and MarineEngineering Company with thedevelopment of an LNG carrier forYamal LNG. Sung-Pyo Kim, DeputyDirector, DSME and Ilkka Saisto, TeamLeader, Aker Arctic Technology Inc.,presented the development project.

Then followed an ice tankdemonstration. This year, wedemonstrated the ability of a modernicebreaking vessel to penetratepressure ridges both in the aheaddirection using conventional rammingand backing methods, or astern utilizingthe flushing effect of the azimuthpropulsion units. The ice ridges in themodel test basin were produced by amethod that mimics the natural processof ridge formation, resulting in a realistictriangular cross-section.

In the afternoon, a joint presentation ofcase studies on ice propellerdevelopment was held by Kari Laukia,from Aker Arctic, Ari Viinikkala, fromTEVO Oy and Alexander Ilyintsev, fromJSC Zvyozdochka.

Aker Arctic Canada has developed anew ice strengthened lifeboat, whichEvan Martin discussed. You can readabout this project in the 1/2017 issue ofArctic Passion News.

The design and construction of thefirst ever arctic condensate carrier waspresented by Li Tao, Managing Directorat Guangzhou Shipyard International.The gas condensate tanker will be usedto transport gas condensate, which is aby-product separated from natural gasbefore its liquefaction process.

In 2014, Aker Arctic designed two PC3class module carriers, in closecooperation with ZPMC EnergyRed BoxServices, for the delivery of constructionmodules to the LNG plant in Sabetta.The two vessels, named the andAudaxthe , were delivered in early 2016Pugnaxand Dirk Verhoeven, COO of ZPMC RedB Energy Services, described the firstoxoperational experiences.

Mikhail Belkin, Assistant to DirectorGeneral, Rosatomflot, explained howtheir company plans to support arcticshipping in the future and what atomicicebreakers are in process. The demandfor their services has and will furtherincrease.

The day was concluded by TomasÅrnell, Head of the IcebreakingDepartment at the Swedish MaritimeAdministration. The topic of hispresentation was icebreaking in Swedenand the Northern Baltic and plans for thefuture.

We would like to thank all the guestspeakers and participants of this year'ssuccessful and interesting Arctic PassionSeminar! The seminar presentations canbe found on http://akerarctic.fi/en/arctic-passion/arctic-passion-seminars.

Aker Arctic's annual customer seminar gathered nearly onehundred Arctic specialists and other professionals from theshipping, shipbuilding and other related industries from aroundthe world.

18

12th Arctic Passion Seminar in Helsinki

19

Photo: Vyborg Shipyard

September 2017

Aker Arctic has developed the vessel hulland propulsion concept in cooperationwith the Finnish Navy over a number ofyears. Finland needs vessels, which canbe used at all times and in all weatherconditions, as all Finnish ports canpotentially freeze over, meaning thatwinter sea faring must be taken intoaccount in all design aspects.

“We have developed the hull form sothat it is optimised for both open waterand ice, without being an icebreaker,”says Kari Laukia, head of ship design

and engineering for Aker ArcticTechnology. “The propulsion design,including strength calculations, as wellas hull model testing and full-scalepropeller strength testing were also partof our work. In propeller design, we havedeveloped new design criteria, whichcombine ice-going capabilities and lownoise levels.”

According to current plans,construction will begin at RMC in 2019and the new vessels will be deliveredbetween 2021 and 2024.

Design picture of four Finnish Navyvessels side-by-side.

Test trial in ice at Aker Arctic.

The Logistics Command of the Finnish DefenceForces has signed a design contract for amultipurpose vessel with Rauma MarineConstruction (RMC) in Finland. A total of fourscorvette type vessels will be built and once theyare ready they will replace seven vessels currentlyin use. The design contract follows a letter of intentsigned last year indicating RMC as theshipbuilding partner for the Squadron 2020 project.


Special vessels for the Finnish Navy

The first intelligent de-icing system forcommercial vessels has workedfaultlessly throughout the past winterseason 2016-2017 on the ,MS Pasilaowned by ESL Oy. The vessel's mainareas of operations are the northernBaltic Sea with its demanding weathercircumstances, as well as Russianharbours.

“Experiences from the haveMS Pasilaassisted us in creating and developing

new features for commercial vessels,”says Starkice Oy's CEO, Ilkka Rantanen.

Additionally, the delivery of winterisationequipment to Asian shipyards has beensuccessfully completed.

“The future looks very interesting andnew implementation areas for thePolarPad-elements (a heating solution formarine and offshore use) and controlsystems have emerged from newmarkets,” Rantanen adds.

Starkice de-icing system in operationStarkice new de-icing system combines technology fromAker Arctic and Pistesarjat and Labcotech.

Starkice Oy specialises in keeping criticalareas ice-free and functioning properly infreezing conditions. www.starkice.com

Discovery C visited Aker Arctic inanadaJune 2017 to film an ice model test ofan icebreaking tanker.

Discovery C at Aker Arcticanada

During the Arctic Passion Seminar inMarch 2017, Aker Arctic and AaltoUniversity signed a co-operationagreement on the joint use of ice tanks formodel testing and research purposes.The combination of two ice laboratories –Aker Arctic's 75 m long and 8 m wide

basin and Aalto University'sunique 40-by-40 m square tank –will result in improved capabilitiesparticularly for manoeuvring andother operative icebreakingmodel tests. The co-operationalso provides new opportunitiesfor research in ice technology andprovides the best capabilities forthe ice model tests.

Cooperation agreementwith Aalto University

The first vessels of the series of six 42,000DWT shallow-draught icebreaking shuttletankers for Gazprom Neft are workingtransporting oil from the Arctic Gatesterminal to Murmansk. The lead vessel, the

Shturman Albanov, was tested in ice trialsin April/May, last winter and fulfilled alldesign criteria. She also received the PolarShip Certificate to certify that she complieswith the requirements of the Polar Code,implemented from 1st January 2017 in thePolar areas.

Aker Arctic was involved in thedevelopment of these shuttle tankers. Thehull form was developed in cooperationwith Samsung Heavy Industries and thedevelopment work also included ice modeltesting at Aker Arctic's ice laboratory.

The series of six tankers has beenengineered for year-round duty in theharsh Arctic environment and employs thedouble-acting principle and propulsionarrangements. The new shuttle tankers

can independently break ice up to 1.8mthick by sailing stern-first, and up to 1.4mthick by proceeding bow first. In relation totheir tonnage, the shuttle tankers are widebeam (34m), and have a comparativelyshallow draught. The loaded draught hasbeen limited to 9.5m due to the shallowwaters in the Gulf of Ob, which is coveredwith ice from October to July. The ships arefitted with a special bow loading station forreceiving oil at the offshore terminal.

Novyport tanker in ice trials

Photo: Sovcomflot

20

Meet us here!We will participate in the following events:

Aker Arctic Technology Inc’s newsletterISSN 2342-7965, ISSN 2342-7973Publisher: Aker Arctic Technology IncMerenkulkijankatu 600980 Helsinki, FinlandTel. +358 10 323 6300Fax +358 10 323 [email protected]

ditor in chiefE Reko-Antti Suojanen:Texts by CS Communications Oy:

ay-out Kari SelonenL :rinted in byP September 2017 Grano

NEVA, St. Petersburg19 - 22 September 2017

Arctic Shipping Forum NorthAmerica, Montreal30 October - 1 November 2017

Marintec China 2017, Shanghai5 - 8 December 2017


Sulkavan suursoudut isFinland's largest rowingevent, held every July inSulkava, Eastern Finland.The participants can race inteams, with long, old-fashioned, wooden boats,which people used for goingto church in the old days.There are also othercategories for single andcouple-rowers, as well askayaks and canoes.

“When my colleaguesparticipated in the first race,they had no experience inrowing. They only wanted to

have some fun in the summer,”says Pekka Salmi, who retiredfrom Aker Arctic in 2010 butstill participates in the rowingteam.

The top years of the eventsaw some thousandtwelveparticipants, which has todayfallen to about half. Also, theAker Arctic team has variedover the years, and this yearwe had four newcomers in theteam, racing for the first time.

“Nevertheless, we did well,60 kilometres in 5 hours and41 minutes,” says GraphicDesigner, Kari Selonen.

Salmi adds that the weatherwas lovely although therewas a hard wind, as usual, onthe longest stretch.“Traditionally, we join thenight-race, which starts in theafternoon and ends aroundnine or ten pm.”

Although the Sulkavarowing event is a race, the

main point in participating isto enjoy the tranquillity andbeauty of the Finnish nature,the landscapes surroundingthe lake, the forests and theislands. July is also the besttime of the year to experiencethe white summer nightswhen the sun is up most ofthe night.

Rowing racein the white summer nightsAker Arctic's rowing club participated for the29th year in a row in the Sulkava rowingevent, held every July in Lake Saimaa inFinland. This year the rowing eventcelebrated 50 years of races as well asFinland's 100 years of independence.

Our rowing team after having successfully completed this year'srace, from bottom left: Riikka Matala, Su Len Quach, SaaraMatala, Jillian Adams, Jana Vamberova, Artur Nerman andLauri Vesala. Top left: Tapani Pekkarinen, Sami Saarinen,Mikko Elo, Hannu Lipponen, Esko Voutilainen, Pekka Salmi,Kari Selonen and Göran Wilkman.

The heavy icebreaker will beused for an annual resupplymission to Antarctica, wherethe icebreaker will open achannel through the RossSea ice pack and escorttankers and freighters to theworld's southern-mostharbour at McMurdo Station.The new polar icebreakerwill also be used to supportscience missions in theArctic and remain onconstant stand-by fordemanding search-and-rescue and marineenvironment protectionoperations.

There are five differentconsortia working on theproposals for the CoastU.S.Guard until February 2018.The shipbuilding proposals willbe prepared during 2018 andthe decision on where toconstruct the new vessels willbe made in 2019. The firstvessel should be delivered atthe latest in 2023.

“The new polar icebreakerwill need to manage longtransits in open water, heavyseas and tropical heat, beforebreaking thick multi-year ice infreezing temperatures,” saysMika Hovilainen, Aker Arctic.

Polar icebreaker for the United States Coast GuardThe United States Coast Guard launchedan acquisition programme last year toreplace two old heavy icebreakers withnew polar icebreakers. Currently a U.S.Coast Guard Industry Study is taking place,with the aim to investigate different vesseloptions and make a design feasibilityevaluation with today's modern icebreakersolutions.

Aker Arctic experts provided extensive conceptualdevelopment and design support for the mediumicebreaker USCGC Healy, delivered in 1999. Healy isthe United States' newest and most technologicallyadvanced polar icebreaker.

U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer Patrick Kelley

september 2017 arcticpassionnews

Documents