The NorthEAST Passage Over Siberia Norway to the Pacific

[Steadman Uhlich]

New tanker makes the North East Passage in the Arctic without an icebreaker assist. This is taking natural gas from Norway to Korea using a special, icebreaking tanker ship.

This ship averaged 14 knots while breaking through ice one meter thick!

It can break through 2 meters of ice.
It is planned there will be a fleet of 15 ships built to make regular runs both East and West on this route.

EXCERPT
"It will be the first of a planned fleet of 15 that will transport gas from these ice bound fields all year round.

"Previously there was only a window of navigation from our summer to autumn, but this ship will be able to sail westwards from Sabetta which is the Yamal energy port, all year round and eastwards from July to December," said Sovcomflot spokesman Bill Spears.

"Before the northern sea route was only open for four months and you had to have ice-breakers - so it's a significant development."

In 2016, the northern sea route saw 19 full transits from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

High insurance and large fees for Russian ice-breakers are still discouraging some ship owners from the riskier northern route. But the economic benefits are attractive - the Christophe de Margerie took just 19 days for the entire voyage, around 30% faster than going by Suez.

There has been an overall decline in Arctic sea ice over the past 30 years, linked by scientists to rising global temperatures. This year, according to the US National Snow and Ice Data Centre (NSIDC), the annual maximum extent of Arctic sea ice hit a record low for the third year in a row."

There is more via the link.
https://www-bbc-com.cdn.ampproject.o...nment-41037071

[JPA Cate]

Boy, I wonder what the environmental impact will be when they get all of them up and running. The mind boggles. Stirring the ice makes it melt faster.

[Steadman Uhlich]

I remember years ago, many years ago, probably the mid 1970s, reading about oil tankers proposed for the Northwest Passage. And I seem to recall there was one that made the voyage with icebreaker assist back then.
-----------

EDIT:

Just found the tanker I remembered. The Manhattan.

Short EXCERPT:
"SS Manhattan was an oil tanker constructed at the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts that became the first commercial ship to cross the Northwest Passage in 1969. Having been built as an ordinary tanker in 1962, she was refitted for this voyage with an icebreaker bow in 1968–69.

The voyage prompted passionate discussions in Canada about that country's sovereignty in the Arctic, a topic that dominated Arctic policy formulated under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau's administration throughout the 1970s. At one point during the voyage, Inuit hunters stopped the vessel and demanded that the vessel master ask permission to cross through Canadian territory, which he did, and they granted. The Canadian sovereignty debate generated by Manhattan is being rekindled as multi-year decreases in sea ice, due to global climate change, make further ship transits likely in the future. The question is whether the passage can be considered an international strait or not.

The official reason for the voyage revolved around oil that had been discovered at Prudhoe Bay in 1968. Oil companies reasoned that sea transport of oil by icebreaking supertankers would be cheaper than the building of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System to Valdez.

A second attempt to cross the passage in winter proved impossible, and there were numerous environmental concerns with the project, so it was cancelled and the Trans-Alaska pipeline built.[2]

Source: Wikipedia article on Manhattan.

[arsenelupiga]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

Boy, I wonder what the environmental impact will be when they get all of them up and running. The mind boggles. Stirring the ice makes it melt faster.

I think that is good development. suez canal and mallaca straits will become less important, hence less profitable for pirates so they will move to better things, which is better for cruisers

[newhaul]

Just what we need icebreakers running year-round in the arctic keeping ice from even having a chance to actually form in any reasonable thickness.
What will be the environmental impact when one of those ships get ripped open and the resultant explosion / contamination.

[Viking Sailor]

Originally Posted by Steady Hand

New tanker makes the North East Passage in the Arctic without an icebreaker assist. This is taking natural gas from Norway to Korea using a special, icebreaking tanker ship.

This ship averaged 14 knots while breaking through ice one meter thick!

It can break through 2 meters of ice.
It is planned there will be a fleet of 15 ships built to make regular runs both East and West on this route.

EXCERPT
"It will be the first of a planned fleet of 15 that will transport gas from these ice bound fields all year round.

"Previously there was only a window of navigation from our summer to autumn, but this ship will be able to sail westwards from Sabetta which is the Yamal energy port, all year round and eastwards from July to December," said Sovcomflot spokesman Bill Spears.

"Before the northern sea route was only open for four months and you had to have ice-breakers - so it's a significant development."

In 2016, the northern sea route saw 19 full transits from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

High insurance and large fees for Russian ice-breakers are still discouraging some ship owners from the riskier northern route. But the economic benefits are attractive - the Christophe de Margerie took just 19 days for the entire voyage, around 30% faster than going by Suez.

There has been an overall decline in Arctic sea ice over the past 30 years, linked by scientists to rising global temperatures. This year, according to the US National Snow and Ice Data Centre (NSIDC), the annual maximum extent of Arctic sea ice hit a record low for the third year in a row."

There is more via the link.
https://www-bbc-com.cdn.ampproject.o...nment-41037071

Is this ship going astern?

[Steadman Uhlich]

Yes, this ship travels through the ice in a REVERSE or STERN FIRST orientation!

Here are a few clips (short excerpts) from the description of this vessel.

"The propulsion system of the new gas carrier consists of Azipod type propulsion units.

They provide a very high degree of manoeuvrability, and allow use of the stern-first motion (Double Acting Tanker, DAT function) principle, which is necessary to overcome hummocks and heavy ice fields. Uniquely Christophe de Margerie has three Azipods – this is the first time so many of these propulsion units have been installed on an Arctic ice class vessel."

"
The vessel proved her capability to move stern-first in 1.5 metros thick ice at a speed of 7.2 knots (target figure was 5 knots) and head-on at a speed of 2.5 knots (target figure was 2 knots);

The turning circle of the ship in 1.7 metros thick ice was 1,760 metros against the planned 3,000 metres."

"The total power of the vessel’s propulsion system is 45 mW. For comparison, the world’s first nuclear-powered ice-breaker, Lenin, had a power output of only around two thirds of this figure at 32.4 mW.

In just one voyage, the vessel can carry 172,600 m3 of LNG, which is sufficient to supply the country of Sweden with all its gas requirements for almost four weeks.

The vessel is 299 metros long (equal to the height of the Eiffel Tower) and 60 metres high (comparable to the height of a 22-storey building).

The crew of the ship numbers 29, all of whom are Russian seafarers and 13 of which are officers."

See this link for much more about this ship:
Unique ice-breaking LNG carrier Christophe de Margerie ready to serve Yamal LNG project | Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide

[Steadman Uhlich]

A little more about the use of a rotating AZIPOD type propulsion in high latitude ships and boats. I will include a few photos and illustrations to show how these interesting propulsion units are being used on icebreakers in the USA and elsewhere in the arctic.

Note, the latest vessel, the Christophe de Margerie has THREE Azipod units.

Short Excerpts:

"Azipod units are designed to operate in harsh conditions without structural damage due to ice loads, including operations in the Baltic Sea, Caspian Sea, Great Lakes, Okhotsk Sea and Arctic Sea. Currently there are more than 60 high-ice class Azipod vessels in operation or on order.

Among the latest high-ice Azipod vessels are a series of LNG carriers being built for the Yamal LNG project in the Russian Arctic, the first of the series, Christophe de Margerie, launched in January 2016.

The first Polar Class passenger vessel will be the Azipod-equipped Scenic Eclipse with PC6 ice class notation granted by Bureau Veritas. Scheduled to launch in August 2018, Scenic Eclipse is a discovery yacht able to navigate in both Arctic and Antarctic waters.

It concluded that Azipods aim to enable more efficient ship designs which can navigate independently and safely thru polar waters, as well as being less prone to getting stuck and therefore being delayed due to ice.
Azipod propulsion offers lower energy consumption in both open and ice-covered waters, therefore ABB’s white paper concluded that its product could be a 'natural choice for any expedition vessel' intended for polar waters – from luxury yachts touching Antarctica to heavier ships intended for a full North Pole expedition.

The Motorship | ABB Azipod polar paper

[arsenelupiga]

Originally Posted by newhaul

Just what we need icebreakers running year-round in the arctic keeping ice from even having a chance to actually form in any reasonable thickness.
What will be the environmental impact when one of those ships get ripped open and the resultant explosion / contamination.

this looks pretty disastrous to me back in dec 15:
---------------
Six crew are missing after a freighter carrying hundreds of tonnes of bunker fuel sank in one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, the Singapore Strait, following a collision with a chemical tanker on Wednesday evening.
--------------

alternative route would lighten traffic so more environment friendly. or better said, less damaging.

Six missing as fuel-laden tanker sinks in busy Singapore Strait off Indonesia - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

[Snowpetrel]

Very Interesting Steady, thanks for posting.

I am guessing the extra fuel costs of breaking ice for the most part wouldn't normally make this an economic option. But it seems like these ships burn the waste gas that would otherwise be vented to atmosphere, and the colder temps of the northern route would also help reduce out gassing of the LPG?

I wouldn't have thought azipods would have been rugged enough for heavy ice work, but it seems they are. Certainly its pretty brutal when a big prop starts chewing up a chunk of ice!

[Steadman Uhlich]

Originally Posted by Snowpetrel

Very Interesting Steady, thanks for posting.

I am guessing the extra fuel costs of breaking ice for the most part wouldn't normally make this an economic option. But it seems like these ships burn the waste gas that would otherwise be vented to atmosphere, and the colder temps of the northern route would also help reduce out gassing of the LPG?

I wouldn't have thought azipods would have been rugged enough for heavy ice work, but it seems they are. Certainly its pretty brutal when a big prop starts chewing up a chunk of ice!

I am glad you and others like this topic. Thanks for adding your comment.

I found it interesting to read about this new fleet of 15 ships. I had read about the development of the North East Passage a few years ago, and as I mentioned before, I remembered from many years ago the projection of how commercial shipping would go the arctic routes someday…and now can see how they will implement the route in a new way.

Yes, the interesting thing about these ships is part of their design is to use the gas they carry as an alternative fuel. Your point about the need to normally vent gas in hot locations is a good one, as they can simply burn it if desired.

As for the AZIPODs in ice?
I was surprised to see the photos of the ship going in reverse, but as the other images of the two different icebreaker designs (one American, one Chinese) show, those Azipods have been chosen for dedicated icebreakers, and the ability to rotate the pods does open up a different hull design. I imagine it has something to do with thrust being close to the ice that is breaking and improved maneuverability in an ice channel, as they pick their leads to follow if necessary.

Reminds me of front wheel drive cars.

[rosatte]

We can only hope Mother Nature rears her head and drops tempatures to minus 50 and freezes the passage rock solid

[Larry T.]

The Manhattan stopped in my home Port of Port Angeles Wa. years ago and if I remember right, she was the first and only civilian ship ever built with a nuclear reactor for power.

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by arsenelupiga

this looks pretty disastrous to me back in dec 15:
---------------
Six crew are missing after a freighter carrying hundreds of tonnes of bunker fuel sank in one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, the Singapore Strait, following a collision with a chemical tanker on Wednesday evening.
--------------

alternative route would lighten traffic so more environment friendly. or better said, less damaging.

Six missing as fuel-laden tanker sinks in busy Singapore Strait off Indonesia - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

While I agree that the loss of life is tragic. The sinking and resultant pollution doesnt really have the long term effects that a disaster similar to that would have in the harsh yet very fragile arctic ecosystem.

[inchcailloch]

Which country will be the first to insist on a cruising permit, checking in tax and checking out tax, admeasurers tax, sail tax engine size tax,, fishing permits, captain and crew tax, light tax, bribery tax, only just looking tax,syntax and carpet tacks all to exploit sailors and wind up grumpy old men like me, for this route?