Ice loads on new Arctic class tankers tested

Ice loads on new Arctic class tankers tested A group of vessel specialists will participate in a study to measure the effect of ice loads on Arctic-class shuttle tanker performance.
   The four firms involved in the study are ABS, ConocoPhillips, Sovcomflot and Samsung Heavy Industries. The study, considered the first of its kind, will provide researchers with important data regarding stresses these vessels experience while operating in ice-covered waters.
   “We have considerable experience measuring ice loads on ice breakers and smaller ships, but the scale effect of large ships operating in heavy ice conditions is not as well defined,” said Aleksandr Iyerusalimskiy of project services at ConocoPhillips, in a statement.
   The study will be conducted on the 70,000-deadweight-ton Shturman Albanov, the third in a series of Arctic shuttle tankers scheduled for delivery from Samsung Heavy Industries in February 2009, during its initial two winter seasons operating in the Barents Sea.
   According to the study participants, a monitoring system will employ fiber-optic sensors within the ice belt at two locations in the bow and stern quarters of the ship to measure and record ice pressures and loads, and compute ice-induced responses of the hull structure at highly loaded locations. A bridge display depicting a color plot of the pressure distribution over each area includes an alarm to alert crews of large impacts.
   “The goal is to provide real time feedback to operators, reducing the uncertainty that can exist today, and then use this information to mitigate risks involved,” said Han Yu, ABS research and development manager.
   For more detail about international shipping activities in the Arctic region, read the October American Shipper, pages 73-75.