Tag Archives: icebreaker
Don’t expect the Northern Sea Route to be croweded any time soon
Although it’s possible to pilot large cargo vessels through Arctic Waters, there are a number of reasons why it is not particularly attractive to operators. You know… icebergs an’ all that. Getting insurance can be a bit of a bugger, too.
Arctic Shipping Route Plagued by Icebergs and Insurance
The new shipping route opened up through the Arctic by climate change will not be crowded any time soon.
Cargoes of coal, diesel and gas have made the trip but high insurance costs, slow going and strict environmental rules mean there will not be a rush to follow them.
Looser ice means icebergs. One vessel has already been holed, and large ice breaking vessels, not always on hand, are a must.
“Significant safety and navigational concerns remain an obstacle to commercial shipping in the Northern Sea route, despite recent media reports of ‘successful’ transits,” said Richard Hurley, a senior analyst at shipping intelligence publisher IHS Maritime.
“AIS (ship) tracking of vessels in the area shows all vessels are subject to deviation from direct routes as a result of ice, and many areas still cannot be navigated safely without the presence of large icebreakers able to provide assistance such as lead through to clearer waters.”
Last month, a dry bulk vessel carrying coal from Canada passed through the Northwest Passage to deliver a cargo to Finland, in a trip its operators said would save $80,000 worth of fuel and cut shipping time by a week.
The world’s top oil trader Vitol brought tankers in October with Asian diesel to Europe via the Northern Sea route over Russia, potentially saving hundreds of thousands of dollars in costs.
The fast-growing liquefied natural gas market, in which Arctic players like Russia and Norway play a big role, has also seen maiden Arctic voyages.
Hurley said the passage of the Yong Sheng cargo vessel in August from China to Europe via the Northern Sea was only possible with the aid of the world’s largest nuclear powered icebreaker, 50 Let Pobedy, to get it through the Lapatev Sea. Ship tracking showed only four large icebreakers were available at any one time to cover the whole Northern sea route.
Separately, a small Russian oil products tanker was holed in September in the Kara Sea, also off Russia.
“Even though damage was minimal and did not cause a pollution incident, the holing revealed fragility of emergency help,” Hurley said. “Taken together, all the inherent dangers and concerns over potential Arctic pollution count heavily against time and cost savings alone when assessing the commercial viability of the seaway.”
INSURANCE AND CONTAINERS
The market is also still nascent for insurers.
“The key obstacle here will remain the insurance, as it’s still simply too risky a proposition for standard commercial insurers,” said Michael Frodl of U.S.-based consultancy C-Level Maritime Risks, who advises insurers.
“The ships aren’t ready, the support facilities and port infrastructure are not yet in place, and the risks haven’t been figured out enough to price insurance correctly.”
Others say the commercial potential is unlikely to be viable for container ships, which transport consumer goods, partly as trade flows develop beyond China in coming decades towards other regions including Africa and South America.
“The further away global trade moves from a totally China-centric export pattern, the more a short ‘polar’ route looses its appeal,” said Jan Tiedemann, shipping analyst with consultancy Alphaliner.
“The Southern route – even if longer – will always have the advantage of serving numerous markets at the same time. Think of the Middle East. Think of transshipment via the (Malacca) Straits to Australia and New Zealand. Think of transshipment in Arabia for East Africa. Think of Med and Black Sea loops.”
Until recent years harsh weather conditions, which can drop to 40 to 50 degrees centigrade below zero, had limited Arctic shipping mostly to small freighters and ice-breakers that supplied northern communities in Canada, Norway or Russia.
According to French ship classification society Bureau Veritas, there were 40 Arctic route trading voyages in 2012 for all vessel classes including oil tankers, with around one million tonnes of cargo moved. That compared with 700 million tonnes transported through the Suez canal.
Knut Espen Solberg of Norwegian shipping and offshore classification group Det Norske Veritas, said dry bulk vessels carrying coal were best suited for Arctic shipping as the potential for environmental potential was less.
“Oil and container spills have a much bigger potential environmental impact than coal, so their shipping is likely to be restricted heavily,” said Solberg, a former Arctic mariner.
HMS Endurance to be scrapped, HMS Protector offers “offers good value for money”
Endurance been out of service since 2008. All we’ve been doing for the last 5-years is waiting for the shoe to drop. Protector is a perfectly adequate replacement. So there’s no need for drama. Besides which, the Endurance that many of you are no doubt thinking of is this one (1967-1991) and not this one (1991-2008).
HMS Endurance: Former ice patrol ship to be scrapped
HMS Endurance, which was replaced by HMS Protector in 2011, is also known as Red Plum
The Royal Navy’s former ice patrol ship HMS Endurance – damaged when its engine control room flooded off the Chilean coast in 2008 – is to be scrapped.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the Portsmouth-based ship, which was replaced by HMS Protector in 2011, would go out of service in 2015.
A MoD spokesman said the “damage sustained” by the ship off Chile meant repairs were not “economically viable”.
The incident near South America saw 15 civilians airlifted to safety.
The spokesman said: “Given the level of damage sustained and the subsequent deterioration of the ship, it was not considered economically viable to repair her.”
‘Value for money’
The mission of the ship, which is also known as Red Plum, was to patrol and survey the Antarctic and South Atlantic. That duty has now being undertaken by HMS Protector.
HMS Protector underwent a refit to join the Royal Navy.
HMS Protector was built in 2001 as an Antarctic research ship and was formerly known under the Norwegian name of MV Polarbjorn.It underwent a refit to join the Royal Navy and was officially named HMS Protector in June 2011.
The MoD spokesman said £5m had been spent “to bring HMS Protector up to the Royal Navy’s world-class standards” and work had been done to improve the ship’s communications systems and add specialist hydrographic equipment, including a survey motor boat.
“The purchase of HMS Protector offers good value for money and secures the UK’s long term ice patrol survey capability,” he said.
Russian border guards open fire on Greenpeace vessel
Further shenanigans in the Pechora Sea as the Russian border guard opens fire on the Greenpeave vessel ‘Arctic Sunrise.’ This comes on the heels of an earlier confrontation over offshore drilling in August.
Российские пограничники открыли огонь, чтобы остановить судно Гринпис
Пограничники были вынуждены четырежды выполнять предупредительную стрельбу из артиллерийской установки пограничного корабля, чтобы остановить судно Гринпис, сообщило ФСБ РФ.
© AFP 2013/ Stephan Agostini
МОСКВА, 18 сен — РИА Новости. Пограничники были вынуждены несколько раз открыть предупредительную стрельбу в Печорском море после попытки неизвестных проникнуть на нефтедобывающую платформу “Приразломная”, сообщило ФСБ РФ в среду.
Ранее экологическая организация сообщила, что активисты “Гринпис” устроили акцию протеста у “Приразломной” в Печорском море, двое из них арестованы, еще двое забрались на платформу. Читайте подробнее >>
© РИА Новости. Игорь Ермаченков
Ледокол Гринпис: вертолетная площадка, скоростные лодки и экотопливо“В связи с реально сложившейся угрозой безопасности объекта нефтегазового комплекса РФ и неподчинением законным требованиям о прекращении незаконной деятельности сотрудниками пограничных органов была выполнена предупредительная стрельба из автомата АК-74 <…> В связи с отказом капитана судна “Арктик Санрайз” выполнить требования о прекращении противоправной деятельности, руководством <…> принято решение об остановке судна. Пограничники были вынуждены четырежды выполнять предупредительную стрельбу из артиллерийской установки пограничного корабля”, — говорится в сообщении.
Отмечается, что “на предупредительную стрельбу, сигналы об остановке судно не отреагировало” и мероприятия по остановке судна продолжаются.
ФСБ сообщило, что активисты пытались проникнуть на “Приразломную” при помощи “кошек” и веревок. Задержанных доставили на борт корабля “Ладога”.
По информации природоохранной организации, задержаны следующие активисты Гринпис: гражданка Финляндии Сини Саарела (Sini Saarela) и гражданин Швейцарии Марко Поло (Marco Polo).
Какие еще акции проводили активисты Гринпис
Гринпис не в первый раз устраивает акции протеста в связи с попытками нефтяных компаний начать освоение Арктики. В августе 2012 года шесть альпинистов Гринпис “оккупировали” на 15 часов платформу “Приразломная”. В феврале 2012 года активисты на 76 часов заняли буровую вышку нефтеразведовательного судна компании Shell в новозеландском порту Таранаки. В мае 2011 года экологи расположились внутри спасательной капсулы, которую они подвесили прямо над буром на одной из арктических нефтяных платформ британской компании Cairn Energy.
Исполнительный директор Гринпис Интернэшнл Куми Найду: “Наша кампания против Газпрома, Shell и других нефтяных гигантов продолжится, чтобы остановить безответственные планы добычи нефти в Арктике и вдохновить еще больше людей по всему миру на то, чтобы присоединиться к тем почти двум миллионам защитников Арктики, которые уже отдали свои голоса за создание международного арктического заповедника”.
Что представляет из себя платформа “Приразломная”Месторождение Приразломное, открытое в 1989 году, расположено на шельфе Печорского моря в 60 километрах от берега на глубине 19-20 метров. Его запасы оцениваются в 72 миллиона тонн нефти. Нефтяная платформа “Приразломная”, работа на которой, по словам Цыбина, может начаться уже в этом году, — первая в мире подобного типа. Читайте подробнее >>
Canadian Coast Guard helicopter crashes in Arctic Ocean, 3 dead
Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark.
– Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Arctic coast guard helicopter crash kills 3
The crash occurred on Monday evening in the McClure Strait, about 600 kilometres west of Resolute. (ArcticNet)
Canada’s Transportation Safety Board is investigating a tragic incident in which three men were killed Monday when the helicopter they were on crashed into the Arctic Ocean.
The helicopter was on a reconnaissance mission at the time, travelling with the Amundsen, a coast guard icebreaker. There were no survivors.
The men who died were:
- Marc Thibault, commanding officer of the CCGS Amundsen.
- Daniel Dubé, helicopter pilot.
- Klaus Hochheim, an Arctic scientist affiliated with the University of Manitoba.
The Amundsen had recently departed Resolute on a research voyage.
This map shows the location of the crash, about 600 kilometres west of Resolute, in the Northwest Passage north of Banks Island. (CBC)
The crash occurred at 8 p.m. ET (6 p.m. MT) Monday in the McClure Strait, about 600 kilometres west of Resolute. The McClure Strait is north of Banks Island on the opposite side of the island from Sachs Harbour, N.W.T.
The helicopter, a Messerschmitt BO 105S, was doing a reconnaissance mission on the state of the ice in the area when it crashed.
A spokesperson with the Coast Guard said Tuesday that weather conditions in the area of the crash were “clear, with good visibility.”
The first responder to the crash site was the Amundsen itself. The crew was able to recover the three victims, and are returning to Resolute with their bodies. All three were wearing standard issue orange survival suits.
Marc Thibault, commanding officer of the CCGS Amundsen, was killed Monday when the helicopter he was on crashed into the Arctic Ocean. (DFO)
Louis Fortier, the scientific director of the mission of which the three men were part, said their deaths came as a shock.
“Commandant Thibault and Daniel and Klaus were friends,” he said. “And this is the main message this morning, it’s the sadness for those people with whom we’ve been working with for 10 years now and it’s a major loss.”
The ship is expected to arrive back in Resolute on Wednesday.
Psychologists will be there when the ship arrives to offer support to the nearly 80 crew members and researchers aboard the Amundsen.
Helicopter Pilot Daniel Dubé, who was killed in the crash, was born in Abitibi, Que., in 1957. (DFO)
TSB reviewing incident
Thibault was born in L’Islet in the Chaudiere Appalaches region of Quebec in 1965. Dubé was born in Abitibi, Que., in 1957. He was married with four children. Hochheim was 55 years old. He leaves behind a wife and three children.
“Klaus was a friend and colleague. We’re devastated at the news of his passing,” said Tim Papakyriakou, one of Hochheim’s colleagues at the University of Manitoba. “He was a veteran of high Arctic field campaigns and an outstanding research scientist. We extend heartfelt condolences to his family. He will be sorely missed by all.”
Klaus Hochheim, 55, a passenger killed in Monday’s helicopter crash in the McClure Strait, was an Arctic scientist affiliated with the University of Manitoba. (DFO)
Prime Minister Stephen Harper also issued a statement on the death of the three men.
“On behalf of Canadians, Laureen and I offer our deepest condolences to the families and friends of [the victims],” Harper said. “It is a grim reminder of the very real dangers faced on a regular basis by those brave individuals who conduct research and patrol our Arctic – one of the harshest and most challenging climates in the world – to better understand and protect Canada’s North.”
“The courage and dedication of these three brave individuals will be honoured and remembered,” the PM said.
The vessel had gone through a full crew change on Sept. 5 in Resolute.
The coast guard spokesperson said it is standard practice for helicopters to depart on reconnaissance missions to gauge ice around the ship following a crew change.
The Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday it is probing the crash.
“One of our biggest challenges is that there are no eyewitnesses,” said John Lee, who is with the TSB in Edmonton. “And of course the helicopter itself, which is going to have a lot of important information for us, is located at the bottom of McClure Strait so until we retrieve the wreckage it’s going to be difficult to be able to come to any kind of determination as to cause or any underlying issues.”
Lee said the TSB is still trying to figure out how it’s going to retrieve the helicopter. It’s about 450 metres under water north of Banks Island.
The last time a coast guard helicopter crashed was in 2005 in Marystown, Nfld.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/story/2013/09/10/north-chopper-crash.html
4 nuclear-power icebreakers escort Russian battlecruiser, ignore oil tanker in distress
So the Yuri Andropov… sorry… I mean the Petr Veliky (old Soviet leopard, new Russian spots) warrants 4 nuclear-powered icebreakers for a jaunt through the Nordenskiöld Archipelago, but a floundering tanker loaded with diesel oil is left to its own devices. There’s Soviet logic … oops… sorry… I mean Russian logic for you. What’s the harm of an ecological disaster here or there?
{sigh} They don’t make this easy, you know, renaming ships an’ all. The Andropov is the Veliky, the Ural is the “50 Years of Victory or Fiftieth Anniversary of Victory”, the Nordvik is the Volgoneft. You know what this is? Maskirovka! 😉
Four icebreakers for missile cruiser – none for damaged tanker
The Northern Fleet’s flag ship «Petr Veliky» was escorted by no less than four nuclear-powered icebreakers on its voyage eastwards along the Northern Sea Route. At the same time a damaged tanker fully loaded with diesel fuel has been waiting for assistance for a week after it was struck by an ice floe.
Nuclear icebreakers escorting Russia’s heavy missile cruiser “Petr Veliky” along the Northern Sea Route. (Photo: mil.ru)
A vessel group consisting of ten different vessels from the Northern Fleet and led by the heavy missile cruiser “Petr Veliky” yesterday sailed through the Matisen Strait north of the Taymyr Peninsula, the Defense Ministry’s web site reads. The group was escorted by no less than four of Atomflot’s nuclear-powered icebreakers, among them the two largest and most powerful icebreakers in the world, “50 Let Pobedy” and “Yamal”. Also the two shallow-water nuclear icebreakers “Vaygach” and “Taymyr” were put in to escort the world’s largest battlecruiser through the crumbling ice.
Watch video from the Northern Fleet’s voyage along the Northern Sea Route on TV Zvezda.
Matisen Strait is the same place where a nearly 30 year old tanker loaded with diesel oil has been waiting for assistance for a week after it collided with an ice floe and started taking in water.
The 6403 dwt tanker “Nordvik” was struck by ice in the area last Wednesday while sailing in medium ice conditions – in all probability without icebreaker escort, while it only had permission to sail in light ice conditions. In the first information about the accident – which came from the Seafarer’s Union of Russia and not from any governmental source, it was said that the vessel was on its way to Murmansk, but later information from the Federal Agency for Sea and River Transport revealed that the tanker was drifting in the area, waiting for another tanker to come and unload the diesel and for an icebreaker to come and escort the vessel to port.
Ship-to-ship reloading of oil in ice conditions is considered to be a risky business, but in this situation it is probably safer than trying to sail the damaged ship to port.
PHOTEX: HMCS Shawinigan alongside CCGS Pierre Radisson
HMCS Shawinigan pulls alongside the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Pierre Radisson off the coast of Resolution Island, Nunavut during Operation Nanook on August 20, 2013. Photo: Cpl I. Thompson
Russian coast guard threatens use of force against Greenpeace vessel
The Greenpeace ice breaker Arctic Sunrise has been stopped by Russian border guard in the Kara Sea and has left the area following what Greenpeace claims were ‘threats to use force.”
Greenpeace is protesting an oil exploration joint venture between Russian state-owned oil company Rosneft and US oil giant ExxonMobil.
Ледокол Greenpeace, остановленный российскими пограничниками, уйдет из Карского моря
Москва. 26 августа. INTERFAX.RU – Ледокол Greenpeace Arctic Sunrise покидает Карское море, сообщила представитель российского отделения Гринпис Халимат Текеева.
“Такое решение было принято после того как российская береговая охрана пригрозила применить силу”, – сказала она.
Operation Deep Freeze I (1957)
Naval History and Heritage Command, Photographic Section, UM-26.
Major icebreakers of the world
Only the “majors.” Smaller vessels (less than 10,000 HP), such as the Royal Navy’s HMS Protector, and “ice-strengthened” vessels such as the British Antarctic Survey’s RRS Ernest Shackleton, are not included.
U.S. Coast Guard’s 2013 Reivew of Major Ice Breakers of the World
The Coast Guard Office of Waterways and Ocean Policy (CG-WWM) began producing the chart of major icebreakers of the world in July 2010. Since then, we have gathered icebreaker information and recommendations from a variety of sources and experts, including icebreaker subject-matter experts, internet posts, news updates, Arctic experts and Coast Guard offices with icebreaker equities. We validate our information within the public forum and update the chart at least semi-annually based on new information and feedback. This chart represents the Coast Guard’s current factual understanding of the major icebreaker fleet. This chart is not intended for icebreaker fleet comparisons and no inference should be drawn regarding a country’s icebreaker “ranking” against another.
The following is the July 18, 2013 review by the U.S. Coast Guard of Major Icebreakers of the World.
Scope. Vessels meeting the general definition of a polar icebreaker per the 2007 National Research Council report on Polar Icebreakers in a Changing World are included. These vessels “have sailed in significant sea ice in either the Arctic or the Antarctic,” have “ice strengthening sufficient for polar ice” and possess “installed power of at least 10,000 horsepower.” Minimally ice-strengthened ships (enough to survive in ice, rather than operate in it) and icebreakers of less than 10,000 horsepower are not included. With the exception of the Baltic icebreakers, this chart does not indicate where their owners may actually operate them. In addition, the chart does not specify whether a vessel’s crew is civilian or military.
Classification Methodology: The chart organizes the icebreakers first by country, then by installed power category, and finally in order of placement in service, youngest to oldest. The chart colors icebreakers by their relative capability estimated using brake horsepower as the most common basis. The most capable icebreakers are black, the next level sea-green and the lightest icebreakers are blue. Icebreakers in construction are colored yellow, and planned icebreakers are white. Planned icebreakers are placed on the chart if we can reliably state they are funded. The chart identifies government-owned or -operated icebreakers with the country’s flag next to the icebreaker. Nuclear-powered icebreakers are marked with an N. Baltic icebreakers designed to operate solely in seasonal, first-year Baltic Sea ice but meeting the ice-strengthening and horsepower criteria are marked on the chart with a B. Most Baltic icebreakers may not have operated in the Arctic due to concerns with open-ocean sea-keeping ability for open water transits.
Fleet numbers and Icebreaker Size in Context. The fleet numbers and icebreaker size tend to align along each county’s economic necessity for icebreaker resources. For example, the economies of Finland, Russia and Sweden have greater dependence on major icebreakers to pursue economic goals in the Arctic and Baltic winters than the economies of other nations. Also, ice in these countries’ shipping lanes, rivers and ports forms earlier, lasts longer, and requires more power to break, requiring more extensive icebreaking capabilities. Similarly, the Canadian icebreaker fleet supports summer access and supply to Canada’s Arctic communities. In contrast, in addition to the polar icebreakers already listed, the U.S has a number of icebreakers operating in the Great Lakes, New England and the mid-Atlantic to facilitate commerce and for exigent circumstances, but these are not listed in this chart because the icebreakers are not required to meet the threshold of at least 10,000 BHP.
An undated photo of USCGC Healy (WAGB – 20). US Coast Guard Photo
http://news.usni.org/2013/07/23/u-s-coast-guards-2013-reivew-of-major-ice-breakers-of-the-world
Naval Matters 