Aker Arctic Technology Inc Newsletter ArcticPassionNews€¦ · the business of ice-going ship design and engineering, research and development services for ships, related structures

Decadesofarcticexpertise

March 2015

ArcticPassionNews

Aker Arctic Technology Inc Newsletter

1 / 2015 / 9

2

Reko-Antti SuojanenManaging Director

Announcements

In this issue Dear Reader,Page 2 From the Managing Director

Page 3 Design agreement forArgentina

Page 4 en yearsAker Arctic t

Page 6 Offshore experts ensuresafety

Page 10 Solutions to environmentaldemands

Page 12 Improved DP in ice

Page 13 Ice simulator attractsattention

Page 14 Ice model tests for Technip

Page 16 Seakeeping tests foricebreaking trimaran

Page 17 Polar Code adopted

Page 18 What's up

Page 20 Celebrating ten years

Meet us here

Antero Jäppinenhas been appointedProject Engineer(electrical systems)for the engineeringdepartment at AkerArctic. He waspreviously atEdec Oy, where heworked as project manager inelectrical design projects. Earlier in hiscareer he worked at Kvaerner MasaYards, Helsinki as a project engineerfor Navigation and communicationsystems.

Martti Kesäniemihas been appointedSoftware Engineer.

Martti transfers to usfrom Microsoft Mobile.Martti holds a M.Sc. intechnical physics andmathematics, and hehas a background intechnical computing.

We are currently experiencing significantchanges in many respects. In recentdecades, development in arctic projectshas been quite slow, whereas todaythere are many big projects underway,e.g. in Sakhalin and Yamal, not tomention the developments in Alaska andthe Antarctic region. New regulatorysetups are being created, such as Polarclasses and the Polar Code.

Everywhere in this industry, we are alsoexperiencing a generational shift. Thenext generation of arctic experts areincreasingly involved in arctic work whilethe older generation is providing theirsupport. We have successfully managedthis knowledge shift and can betremendously proud of our remarkableteam of top professionals: people thatdesign, test and innovate year after year.The work of this team has allowed us tobecome the world's top specialist inarctic ship technology.

We are all aware of the challenges theArctic poses to any operation, and jointeffort in developmental work is important.This year, Aker Arctic is celebrating tenyears of independent operations, and wecan clearly see that the globalcooperation within various projects withour clients and partners has createdgreat solutions for arctic and ice-relatedoperations. The past decade has beeninteresting, and the company hassucceeded in establishing an importantposition within the community.

Aker Arctic already had a long historybefore becoming a fully independentcompany. The former Wärtsilä Ice ModelBasin (1969–1983), Wärtsilä ArcticResearch Centre (1983–1989) andKvaerner Masa-Yards Arctic TechnologyCentre (1989–2005) were behind most ofthe world's icebreakers that were built inFinland. The founding of Aker Arctic in2005 was set to continue thedevelopment and design of icebreakingships, now serving the global markets forshipowners and shipbuilders.

Our ice model testing facility is usedcontinuously in the development of newships and to solve ice-relatedchallenges. We are strongly engaged inthe business of ice-going ship designand engineering, research anddevelopment services for ships, relatedstructures and components, as well asarctic offshore structures. In addition toship design, model and full-scale testingservices, we actively take part in iceexpeditions, training and othertechnology services associated withoperations in icy or severely coldconditions.

In this issue of Arctic Passion News wedescribe our current projects. We havealso included a special review of the tenyears of achievements describing AkerArctic's past decade. We emphasise theimportance of our clients and co-operation partners for teaming up onprojects all these years.

On behalf of the entire Aker Arctic team, Ihope you enjoy your reading, and let'slook forward to the next ten years withgreat ambition!

March 2015Arctic Passion News No 9

Please note that our telephonenumbers have changed

Tel. 010 3236 300Fax 010 3236 400

Our website also has a new look andyou can now follow us on Facebook,Twitter and LinkedIn,www.akerarctic.fi.

Ilkka Saisto hasjoined Aker Arcticas Senior Hydro-dynamic Specialistin the ship designdepartment. Ilkkatransfers from theVTT TechnicalResearch Centre ofFinland, where he worked as aresearch team leader and seniorscientist responsible for ship hydro-dynamic research.

Toni Skogström hasbeen appointed as aResearch Engineerin the TestingDepartment. Hegraduated as a NavalArchitect from AaltoUniversity School ofEngineering in 2015and his thesis considered the effect ofthe conical structure angle on the ice-breaking process in model ice.

3

Arctic Passion News No 7 September 2014

In November 2014, Aker Arcticwas awarded the contract forthe concept design of a newSpecial Purpose Ship for theArgentinian government.

The Special Purpose Ship for the

Argentinian government will be used

mainly for transporting equipment and

researchers to Argentina's Antarctic

base, as well as for research purposes.

“This is a good example of a ship where

various customers' differing requirements

lead to different ship concepts,” says

chief designer Lars Lönnberg who is also

responsible for designing the Chinese

Polar Research Vessel.

The concept design was completed at

the end of February 2015. The ship will

be constructed in China and the design

work will be carried out in close co-

operation with the operators and

shipyard.

“It has been a pleasure to work with the

Argentinian customer. They have been

able to make fast decisions in order to

advance the project. This is an excellent

example of how governmental

acquisitions for polar vessels do not

necessarily need a long timeframe. We

began initial discussions in May 2014

and the contract was signed in

November. Now the concept design is

already completed," Sales and Marketing

Manager Arto Uuskallio says.

This new order is a continuation of many

other governmental icebreaker projects

that have been delivered in a short time

f o Aker Arctic, and thus serve as proofr m

of the increasing interest in the polar

areas and the need for reliable and

efficient vessels.

Concept design for ArgentinianSpecial Purpose Ship

Photo: Arctech Helsinki Shipyard


Main dimensions

Length overall about 131.5 m

Length on design about 125 mWL .0

Breadth maximum about 23.9 m

Breadth at design about 23.6 mWL

Draught, at design 8.0 mWL

Draught, maximum 8.3 m

Depth to main deck 11.8 m

Freeboard at maximum draught 3.5 m

4

Aker Arctic celebrates tenyears as an independentcompany this year. From aninitial twelve persons, we aretoday a world-renownedcompany in arctic technologywith close to fifty employeesand a turnover of 10 millioneuros. However, our historybegins nearly five decadesearlier.

It is 1969 and the 106 000 DWT tankerSS Manhattan tries to prove that theNorthwest Passage is a viablecommercial route for shipping oil fromthe Arctic. Humble Oil has modified herfor the task with the assistance ofFinnish Shipbuilding Company Wärtsilä,which is experienced in buildingicebreakers. The SS Manhattan gainsvaluable experience during the voyagethrough the Northwest Passage and thisfull-scale experiment with the (at thattime) largest U.S. flag vessel operatedby Esso (Exxon) marks a significantmilestone in arctic transports.

Along this development Esso (Exxon)initiates the idea of an ice model basin,where the performance of the SSManhattan and possible future vessels isto be tested. Wärtsilä decides to followthrough and the first ice model-testingbasin in Finland, Wärtsilä IcebreakingModel Basin (WIMB), is ready in 1969.

Ten years later, Wärtsilä decides toexpand its ice research facilities andWärtsilä Arctic Research Centre (WARC)is inaugurated in 1983. This bigger andbetter facility also serves universities forresearch purposes and the solidfoundation of our cutting edge iceknowledge is established. UnfortunatelyWärtsilä Marine goes bankrupt at theend of the 1980s and as a result a newshipbuilding company, Masa-Yards isfounded. It takes over also the testingfacility and ice research continues undera new name, Masa-Yards ArcticResearch Centre (MARC), which laterbecomes part of the Norwegian Kvaernergroup.

Uncertain timesMr Mikko Niini, previous ManagingDirector of Aker Arctic remembers howthe future of the ice research laboratorywas uncertain many times during thoseyears."The 1990s were difficult times, theSoviet Union collapsed and our jointprojects stopped. Luckily, western oil

companies began investing in Russia - inSakhalin in particular - and subsequentlybecame interested in our services, so wesurvived. During this time the azimuthingelectric thruster was developed, whichlead to the revolutionary Azipod product

®

and Double-Acting Ship concept(DAS™) we invented and developed forice navigation. The big change for uscame when Aker took Kvaerner over andthe new management decided toseparate the research centre from thelocal shipbuilding entities. In 2004 I wasgiven the task of managing the changeand building a new research facility, butfirst I needed to find enough partnerswilling to invest money in it. In additionto Aker Yards, and after manydiscussions with potential partners, thejoint owners became Aker-Kvaerner Oil& Gas, Wärtsilä and ABB."

A day of celebration"Aker Arctic Technology Inc startedoperations in January 2005 with 12persons and from there we began tobuild our identity as an independentglobal ice partner," Mr Niini continues.

"At the end of 2005, Aker decided tofocus on vessels other than icebreakersand we were able to pick eight key shipdesigners from Helsinki Shipyard to joinus. Two months later, our new facility inVuosaari Marine Business Park wasready and we could move in. On theinauguration day Mr Göran Wilkman, oneof our founding employees, was in theArctic for full-scale tests of NorilskiyNickel's first vessel. Through a live callhe told us that the vessel had clearlysurpassed all design targets – it was aday of double celebration."

Entire ship design projects"In the beginning, our business wasmodel testing and consulting work butstep-by-step we have expanded ourservices in order to manage completeprojects. In addition we provide trainingfor ice operations, which by recentdevelopment of the ice simulator nowcan be carried out with advanced tools.We have built up an organisation thatcan carry out entire ship design projectsin partnership with our customers," saysMr Reko-Antti Suojanen, ManagingDirector of Aker Arctic.

“Typical for arctic projects is that theyextend over a long period of time. Fromthe initial preparations to design,construction and verification, thetimeframe can be up to ten, even twentyyears. We have become used to thistimeframe throughout our long historyand have to date many successfulcomplete design projects behind us.

Our roots are in shipbuilding, whichmakes it easy for us to communicatewith shipyards and support them inconstruction. One growing focus area isoffshore projects and fixed structures forthe Arctic."

Competence transferA few years ago, some of our mostexperienced employees started to reachthe age of retirement and therefore acompetence transfer program was set inplace to transfer know-how and skills tothe new generation of ice experts.

"The competence transfer and theeducation programs we have for trainingcurrent and new employees have beensuccessful. Our workforce is steadilygrowing, with young, bright engineerswith a passion for ice swelling our ranks,and soon we will reach a new milestoneof 50 permanent employees," adds MrArto Uuskallio, Sales and MarketingManager.

"Looking back at the past ten years, ourcompany has grown and developedthrough our different customer projects. Itis a step-by-step learning curve wherethe outcome from one project helps us inthe next. As a service company, we willcontinue to develop in ways which willbest support our customers in their futureprojects," Mr Suojanen emphasises.


Aker Arctic ten years

2005 Aker Arctic Technology IncWe began independent operations inJanuary 2005.

2013 Ownership changesThe Finnish Government ownedinvestment company, Finnish IndustryInvestment Ltd, acquired a majority stakeof the shares (66,4%) of Aker Arctic fromSTX Finland in order to keep arcticmarine know-how in Finland. Othercurrent minority owners are ABB OyFinland and Aker Engineering andTechnology AS from Norway with 16,8%of shares each.

2014 Turnover reaches 10 Million eurosFrom twelve persons and a turnover of3,6 million euros, we are today a world-renowned company in arctic technologywith close to fifty employees and aturnover of 10 million euros.

2005 PrirazlomnoyeOur first basic design project, which wasan entire ship design project. It gave usthe confidence to use the wide range ofour know-how to serve our customers.As we had been part of a shipbuildingcompany, we wanted to stay hands-on inshipbuilding and to receive feedbackalso directly from the shipyards.

2006 Vuosaari facilities readyOur new office building and modeltesting facility in Vuosaari MarineBusiness Park was ready and Aker Arcticpersonnel moved in.

2006 Norilskiy Nickelarctic container vesselsBreakthrough vessels with the new,revolutionary Double-Acting Ship(DAS™) technology we developed.Today this technology is more or less thestandard in arctic vessels. These wereamong the first ships to operate year-round in the Arctic and proved that it ispossible.

2007 Varandey arctic shuttle tankersThe pioneering trio of arctic tankersdesigned specifically for the project, builtby Samsung and owned by Sovcomflotbegan to transport crude oil in theRussian Arctic region without icebreakerassistance for the first time in the world.

2009 Caspian Sea shallow draughticebreaker tugsFive shallow draught icebreaking tugs forindependent year-round operations inthe North Caspian Sea. A basic designproject where we also supported theshipyard until all vessels were ready anddelivered.

2010 Yamal LNG projectDevelopment work for the Yamal LNGexports had already begun in the 1990sand continued until 2006. In 2010 theYamal LNG project moved ahead and wehave been involved in the planning anddesign development of LNG-carriers,Sabetta harbour as well as designing theport icebreakers to ensure efficient all-year operations.

2010 Ice simulatorAker Arctic's ice simulator wasintroduced and has been continuouslyimproved since. The simulation tool canbe used both for planning vessels andoperations and for training the crew.

2010 Turret mooring systemTurret mooring system introduced at themodel testing facility. The amount andthe characteristics of the mooring linescan be changed according tospecifications.

2011 Oblique icebreakerThe first unit of the unique Aker Arcticdeveloped oblique icebreaker conceptwas ordered by the Russian Government.Initial development work for this conceptwas underway already in the 1990s, anexample of how the time-span for arcticprojects can be decades long.

2011 Multimodel testingMultimodel testing began at our modeltesting facility. Several vessels can betested at the same time, which isespecially important in testing andvisualising ice management operations.

2012 Canadian polar icebreakerWe became a member of the design teamfor the new polar icebreaker for theCanadian Coast Guard with respon-sibilities for all ice related technologies.

2012 Chinese polar research icebreakerConceptual and basic design began forthe highly advanced polar research vesselfor China.

2013 Finnish LNG-fuelled icebreakerThe world's first LNG-fuelled icebreakerwas ordered by the Finnish TransportAgency. We created the concept designand are also actively involved in theconstruction together with the owner andthe shipyard.

2014 Arctic module carrierDevelopment of two PC3 class modulecarriers, which can operate year-round indelivering construction modules fromEurope and Asia to the LNG-plant inSabetta. Design work was carried out inclose cooperation with ZPMC-Red BoxEnergy Services. We are currentlysupporting the two vessels' constructionwork in China.

OAO Sovcomflot

CC

G

Novate

k

36


Offshore experts ensure safetyAker Arctic has recently re-organised its ice technologybusiness into three strategicbusiness units in order tobetter respond to customerneeds: Ship Design &Engineering, Research andTesting Services, and OffshoreServices. New Head ofOffshore Services, IlkkaRantanen explains whatOffshore Services really isabout.

“Most of our offshore projects derive fromoil and gas production and their supportfunctions. We have been involved indesigning arctic harbours, cargo vessels,vessels for harbour infrastructure as wellas designing products related toproduction such as drillships, oil rigs andproduction platforms. Floaters and semi-sub structures for either arctic use orother freezing conditions are included inthe latter," Ilkka Rantanen, Head ofOffshore Services, outlines.

Aker Arctic had already begun offshoreconceptual design and model testing inthe mid 1970s. Over the decades, uniqueinformation has been gathered fromvarious testing, arctic expeditions,shipbuilding and offshore industry.

Preventing emergency"One of our core services is icemanagement, an area which will grow inimportance in the future. Icemanagement in short means planninghow to operate safely in challenging,freezing circumstances. Accuratepredictions and planning are essentialwhen drilling for oil and gas in arcticconditions and this is something weassist the oil, gas, research and drillingcompanies with globally. We help them toplan when and how to safely operate andwhen operations need to stop taking intoaccount their equipment, ice situationand ice development. If an operation hasto be ended as an emergency, there is agreat risk of losing valuable andexpensive equipment, which might neverbe recovered. The very fragileenvironment must be taken into accountand all risks need to be minimised.Therefore predictions are worth puttingan effort into," Mr Rantanen emphasises.

Many projects Aker Arctic has beeninvolved in involve so-called winterisationprojects. "This means that we make surethat everything works in freezingconditions. We can also assist inconverting a structure so that it canfunction in cold conditions, including theconversion plan, providing a team ofspecialists and supervising the alterationwork onboard. Sometimes ourengineering is to analyse conversion

plans and help larger organisations inArctic Packages of design scope.”

“We cover all the cold areas globally,such as Northern Russia, BarentsSea, USA, Canada, Europe and Asia.Our customers are oil and gascompanies, ship operators andengineering offices, which don'tpossess arctic know-how in the sameextent as us," Mr Rantanen says.

Fragile environment"Environmental aspects are an importantpart of our work, especially at OffshoreServices where we deal with fragileareas. Safety in operations, oil spillprevention and oil spill recovery are partof our offshore services," Mr Rantanencontinues.

"Our concept at Aker Arctic is unique aswe have know-how in both icemanagement and offshore, in addition toour model testing facility and long historyof arctic ship design. This is why ourcustomers turn to us with the mostcomplex projects as we can offer thempartnership across an entire project, frominitial planning to designing, testing andfinally supervising construction and full-scale verification."


Offshore teamAker Arctic's core offshore team comprisesIlkka Rantanen, Sami Saarinen, Esa Ritariand Cayetana Ruiz de Almiron de Andres. Foreach customer project these ProjectManagers gather a project team consisting ofexperts from Engineering and Testing unitswithin the company.

Cayetana Ruiz de Almiron specialises inharbour design. She is originally from Spainand works with us as a Project Engineer.

Ilkka Rantanen joined Aker Arctic in August2014. He transferred from STX Finland inRauma, where his home currently is, and hedivides his time between Helsinki and Rauma.Ilkka has a long background in Offshore, bothfrom STX Finland and his earlier work atHollming Works Group.

Sami Saarinen has been with Aker Arctic formany years and is our true ice expert. He hasbeen on numerous expeditions to the Arctic inorder to gather valuable ice knowledge.

Esa Ritari has a solid background in shipdesign and offshore projects, especially inconversion and retrofit. He joined Aker Arcticfrom STX Finland in 2013 and has previouslyworked in Houston, USA, as an expatriate forMetso.

7

September 2012March 2015Arctic Passion News No 9

Characteristic for normal drillshipsintended for open water use is opendeck areas. In arctic drillships, on thecontrary, toenclosure is preferredeffectively enable any requiredwinterisation. Winterisation meansensuring that the vessel, all machineryand equipment function at all times in icyand freezing weather conditions. Thisposes substantial challenge for thedesign work. All interior areas as well ascrew areas have to be planned withsafety as a top priority, with sufficientventilation and clear evacuation plans.Other challenges are ice related, such asice loads.

Riser protection essentialDrillships are either moored to theseafloor with anchors or maintainposition using propulsion and dynamicpositioning (DP) system.. Essential forboth is riser protection, meaning that iceis not allowed to move under the ship

to the moonpool area and reach thedrilling equipment. This can be managedfor example through the hull shape.

"In the Arctic waters, drilling operation isperformed during the summer months.With a specially designed arctic drillship,the operative window can be extended.The drillship can arrive safely at the siteand begin operations when there is stillice and stay longer towards winter,adding great value to our customers andoperators," Esa Ritari, Project Managerat Aker Arctic Offshore Services,highlights.

Ice Management PlanAn essential part of designing drillshipsand planning drilling operations is tomake an Ice Management Plan (IMP).The plan is necessary when arriving atthe operation site, during operations andwhen leaving the site. It explains e.g.how to supervise ice movement, whatare the safety zones, what is the timeneeded to make alteration in theoperation mode if ice is coming closer orwhen does disconnecting becomenecessary. The Ice Management Planalso includes plans for the IceManagement vessels, possibly a supply

vessel and evacuation procedures.Equally as important as the IceManagement Plan is to make an Oil SpillPlan. The contents are similar and theplan should already be outlined in thePre-Feed phase of a project, whenequipment and vessel selections aremade. Criteria for the recoveryequipment depend largely on the areawhere the operation takes place.

"We have been fore-runners in oil spillrecovery in ice and performed pioneeringtests already in the early 1980s in our icelaboratory model basin. The Finnishgovernment made a decision in 1979 toresearch oil spills in ice, after the oiltanker Antonio Gramsci had an accidentin the Baltic Sea. After many laboratorytests, we also conducted a full-scale testin 1985 in the harbour of HelsinkiShipyard and results from those tests stillform the basis for oil spill recovery in icetoday. Development work has naturallycontinued in cooperation with variousinterest groups and recently resulted inthe development of an icebreakingTrimaran, a concept which can beefficient for oil spill recovery in icywaters," explains Mr Ritari.

Arctic drillships extend operative windowA common requirement for alldrillships operating in arcticareas is ice capabilityand suitability for cold or arcticclimates.

Azipods

Azipod plateau Ice breaking reamer extending30 m aft of turret centre

Ice breakingzone

ROV moonpoolthe actual opening in thebottom plate is indicatedin blue

Sea water inletthe actual opening in thebottom plate is indicatedin blue

Turret moonpool

Forward thrusters

Last year we jointly developed the concept of a Moored drillship with Aker Solutions. The drillship is intended for Kara, Beaufortand Chucki Sea drilling, with the hull geometry and propulsion system specially optimised for ice interaction. The ambienttemperature design is -40 C and it can work in ice conditions equivalent to 1.5 m level ice.

o

Ice breaking zone

8


Arctic harbour design is a hottopic around the world and theneed for experienced partnersis growing. The challenges aremany and Sami Saarinenadvises against stepping intoprojects without strong iceknowledge.

Vessels operating in an arctic harbourand the design of the harbour need to beintegrated more closely when comparedto an ordinary open water harbour. Thereason is simply that operating a vesselin an icy harbour area is much moredemanding than operating in open water.Therefore, it is highly beneficial to

simultaneously design the harbour layoutand the vessels that will operate in thatharbour. The same applies whetherplanning vessels for an existing harbouror planning a harbour for existingvessels, the present design should betaken into account in the design work.

"When designing an arctic harbour, thereare a few specific issues that have to beaddressed in the design. First of all, it isimportant to explore how ice is movingboth inside and outside the harbour. Theprevention of ice from outside theharbour drifting into the harbour isessential, as ice accumulating at thepiers can in a worst-case scenario stopoperations for a long time. Ice Barriersare used to avoid this and they protectthe harbour both from waves in openwater situations and from drifting ice

when it is cold," Project Manager SamiSaarinen explains.

“Secondly, ice developing inside theharbour needs to be taken intoconsideration in the operations planningand logistical analyses. Too much ice willslow the process of a vessel reaching itsdocking place. One method to preventthis is the mechanical removal of ice withicebreakers if the harbour is big enough.Another method is to lead warm waterinto the harbour basin to minimise iceformation. This can be combined forexample with air bubbling, where aircreates water movement leading the iceaway from the pier. Thirdly, all assistingvessels need to be compatible with boththe harbour design and the tankersarriving and departing the harbour."

Challenges in designing arctic harbours

Nuclear powered shallow draft polaricebreakers Vaygach and Taymyr atquay in Dudinka harbour.

Docking test in an icy harbour situation.

Photo

: J.E

. Sosnov

9


Aker Arctic has recently beeninvolved in delivering a majorproject for Yamal LNG, whichincluded developing anddesigning the LNG-carriers forexports of LNG to the market,the Sabetta harbour andassisting icebreakers toensure efficient all-yearoperations in the port andassociated region.

"For the Sabetta harbour, we participatedin the development of the port conceptand the layout. The Liquefied NaturalGas (LNG) poses challenges for theentire logistical chain. LNG is susceptibleto transportation stream fluctuations, thusthe cargo vessels have to be at the pierready for loading according to aschedule, otherwise the entire productionsystem has to be turned off, with hugecosts involved. With that in mind, weevaluated the performance of the LNGcarrier and assisting vessels beforebeginning the design of the harbourlayout. For ice formation control in theterminal, we designed a brash ice controlsystem (BIMS), with warm water directedinto the terminal basin combining with anair bubbling system. Furthermore, weoptimised the ice barriers for surroundingice conditions and also consideredpossible future terminal expansionplans," Mr Saarinen tells.

Designing Sabetta harbour

"There are new harbour projectsscheduled to begin in the near future,which we will participate in. It isimportant to keep in mind that the arcticharbour design is much more suited tothe surrounding environment andexpected vessel traffic than traditional

“open water”-harbour designs. Withoutknow-how in ice behaviour, there will bechallenges that are impossible toovercome, so I strongly recommendmaking use of the arctic know-how wehave acquired over the years."

Ice expeditionsAs part of Aker Arctic's services, we conductarctic expeditions to gather ice informationabout new areas. Sami Saarinen has been onnumerous trips and lists a few:

“Pechora Sea, Barents Sea, Gulf of Ob,Yamal peninsula, Bay of Bering,Baffinland in Alaska. It is always easier toconduct design work when you havebeen to a location and have seen whatkind of area we are talking about, whattype of ice there is and what is theprevailing ice situation. When we travel toa new place, we take measurements thatwe then compare to the history of thecurrent ice season's weather conditionsin order to know if the winter is classifiedas hard or easy. We can then quitereliably estimate the ice situation duringother winters. This is part of our servicesfor our customers as the expeditionssupport our design work."

Sami Saarinen hasbeen on numerousarctic expeditionsgatheringinformation aboutthe ice conditionsin these harshareas. Here inSabetta February2015.

Aker Arctic has recently been involved in a major project for Yamal LNG, deliveringdesigns for the LNG-carriers for exports of LNG to the market, developing anddesigning Sabetta harbour, as well as the assisting icebreakers to ensure efficient all-year operations. Pictures from Sabetta harbour in February 2015. (Sami Saarinen)

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Emission controlThe Emission control areas (ECA)currently include the Baltic Sea, NorthSea, North American coastline and theUnited States Caribbean area. Of these,the Baltic and North Seas have SOxlimitations solely and the other two haveadditional limitations for NOx andparticulate matter (PM).

S x emissions are directly related toOsulphur content in fuel. The allowedsulphur limits have a three-tier reductionplan on a global scale and a similarapproach for ECA zones. The allowedsulphur percentage levels decrease quiterapidly in the ECA, where the very strictlimit of 0,1% already came into effect inJanuary 2015. On a global scale, thenext drop in allowed sulphur levels isscheduled to be enforced in 2020, with alevel of 0,5%. The NOx limitations havebeen divided into three steps, of whichthe two first are already enforced byIMO.

The Energy Efficiency Design Index(EEDI) is a mandatory design method fornew vessels above 400 GT. The intent isto reduce CO emissions by regulating2

the installed propulsion power of newvessels with considerable conversion. Atthe moment, ships with icebreakingcapability of more than one metre andships with diesel-electric propulsion areexcluded from EEDI requirements.

Reducing emissionsThere are many possible ways toimprove the energy efficiency of ships,for example the hull form, propeller andmachinery can be made more efficientand thereby decrease emissions.

Emission reduction can be achieved invarious ways either by simply changingthe fuel oil from HFO to low sulphuricoptions like marine diesel or changingthe type of machinery system forutilisation of Liquefied Natural Gas(LNG), or by installing systems thatpurify the exhaust gases to acceptablelevels. Scrubber technology can be usedfor reducing the SOx emissions ofengines. A scrubber's basic function is towash sulphur components from exhaustgases. For reducing NOx emissions,there are catalysers for marineapplications, so called SCR-types(Selective Catalytic Reduction)

Aker Arctic's solutions"Methods for cleaning emissions aregood, but it is important to rememberthat the emissions are still there, they arejust treated so that they don't escape intothe atmosphere. Additionally, some of thecleaning equipment affects theperformance of the ship's machinery to acertain extent," Mr Kari Laukia, Head forShip design and Engineering,emphasises.

“Our approach at Aker Arctic isto design lean solutions, whichlower vessels' efficiency needsand do not affect theoperational capabilities ofships. Our purpose is todesign a vessel that takes intoaccount all emission demandsand is also efficient inoperations. This is especiallyimportant in ice, when engineloads can vary considerablyand the dynamic capability ofthe propulsion has animportant role.”

One example is the LNG-fuelled vessel.LNG-fuel has no SOx and very low NOxand CO emissions and therefore fulfils2

emission requirements. But, a dieselengine using LNG-fuel has lower engineload vs. speed capacity compared to adiesel engine using normal marine fueloil. When moving in ice, the reaction timefor propulsion increases and the LNGfuelled engine would need to react fast inorder to win high propeller ice loads. .


Technical solutions toenvironmental demands

Marine traffic accounts for about 3 % of globalCO emissions.2

CO²

Emissions 2005

Global CO²

Emissions from Fuel Combustion

Energy45.5%

Other Transport1.1%

Transport23.3%

International Maritime2.0%

Domestic Navigation0.4%

International Aviation1.4%

Domestic Aviation1.2%

Source: EDGAR 4.0 (JRC/ PBL) 2009 and IEA.

Road Transport17.0%

Other Sectors12.0%

Manufacturing Industriesand Construction 19.2%

Marine traffic emissions include variousproducts, which are considered harmful for theenvironment. Aker Arctic has developedtechnical solutions to meet tighteningregulations and tries to keep one step ahead ofrules in designing new concepts.

Exhaust gas composition depends on the fuel type used andengine characteristics, such as the engine load. If traditionalfuel oil is considered, the exhaust gas contains mainly nitrogen,oxygen, carbon dioxide and water vapour, as well as smallquantities of carbon monoxide, sulphur oxides, nitrogen oxides,non-combusted hydrocarbons and particulate matter. Othermarine traffic emissions include human waste, paints and otherhazardous materials.

Although marine traffic is not a big polluter compared to othermethods of transport, industry or electricity production,emissions generated by marine traffic are garnering increasingamounts of attention from all over the world. IMO and othercountries have set up limitations for emissions covering variouscomponents found in exhaust gases, such as Emission ControlAreas (ECA) and Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI), ShipEnergy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP) and EnergyEfficiency Operational Index (EEOI), as well as economicmechanisms such as emission trade, bunker fees andinternational GHG-fund.

September 2012

11


13010.0 20.0 40.0 80.0 160.0 315.0 630.0 1250.0 2500.0 5000.0 10000.0 20000.0 40000.0 80000.0

140

150

160

170

180

Frequency

Environmental (E)

dB

re. 1 X

10 -

6 P

a / m

Transit Quiet cruise

Maximum allowable noise levels in 1/3 octave bands environmental class notation SILENT-E.Source: Det Norske Veritas AS.

“Our solution to this is to eitherdesign a hull form thatminimises propeller/iceinteraction, or to design avessel with more temporarypower/torque. However, thelatter is more expensive andtherefore we usually strive tooptimise the hull form," MrLaukia explains.

Located in the bow, the Aker Arcticdeveloped new auxiliary system calledthe bow flushing system (BFS), which isused in harbours as normal side thrusterbut in channel ice as a vertical thruster,thus decreasing the ice resistance andsimultaneously decreasing the neededpropeller power, is a further option.Model tests with a standard tanker havedemonstrated a decrease of neededpropeller power of more than 10% for 1Aclass vessels and of more than 20% for1A Super class. It is also a good solutionto retrofit BFS on existing vessels.

"We are constantly developing new hullforms and bow forms, which require lessand less power to perform the sameicebreaking as before. We can design avessel to use LNG as its main fuel andoptimise the propulsion concept. But, asmost of the vessels also have openwater requirements, we often have tomake compromises. There is nostandardised option available, for eachvessel we have to take into account theoperational profile before deciding on theoptimal solution."

Underwater noiseOne of Aker Arctic's specialities isdesigning research vessels, which todayneed to fulfil the limitations forunderwater noise. Underwater noise isgenerated mainly from the propulsionunits, the machines inside the ship, theauxiliary equipment and especiallypropellers. Some guidelines areavailable, e.g. in the DNV rules there aretwo requirements for underwater noise,either Environmental class E orResearch class R."Low noise vessels have to be designedfrom the beginning as such, it ispractically difficult to reach low noisecriteria in existing vessels. So far, noiserequirements only concern some specialvessels but this might change in thefuture. Our know-how in this area willthen be of use," Mr Laukia assures.

Experience in LNG-vesselsAker Arctic has gathered years ofexperience in designing LNG-fuelledvessels."We have recently developed LNG-tankers for Yamal LNG, where the boil-off gas from transporting LNG is used asfuel. The hull of the Finnish patrol andcoast guard vessel for the"Turva"Finnish Border Control is our design, aswell as the concept of the newicebreaker for the Finnish TransportAgency, which will be the first LNG-fuelled icebreaker in the world. We alsomade a concept and feasibility study foran LNG-fuelled river icebreaker quiterecently for one of our customers," MrLaukia says.

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Finnish patrol and coast guard vessel"Turva" uses LNG-fuel.

Main underwater noise generators.

LNG fuel can with today's technology also be used for ice-going vessels and icebreakers, which are exposed to fast powervariations. Dual-fuelled Diesel-electric machinery of a Finnish icebreaker concept. (Picture: Aker Arctic)

The Aker ArcticdevelopedBow Flushing System (BFS)decreases ice resistance.

12

With the help of the DynamicPositioning system, a vesselcan automatically keep itsposition by using its ownpropellers and thrusters. Thesystem works well in openwater but in ice conditions theperformance varies. We arenow developing a betterversion for ice use, which isready for pilot studies at ourmodel testing basin.

Dynamic Positioning or DP system is anautomatic control system used to keep aship in position and on heading or movingit with a specific heading into a certaindirection. The DP system resists theenvironmental forces such as wind,current and waves. It works well in openwater, but in ice conditions it does notalways function as desired. Therefore weare now developing a version that willwork better in ice. The development workis being made in cooperation with NavisEngineering Oy, a company specialisingin DP equipment.

DP for model testing ready"We have been working on the newversion for a year now. Our target was todevelop better algorithms for the systemand to improve the performance in ice.Another goal was to build needed

equipment for a functional DP system forour ice-testing basin. We wanted toimprove our model testing possibilitiesand also to further develop the DP systemby studying how the improved systemworks in ice," Project Manager Riku Kiilisays.

The equipment for the model testingbasin is now ready for use. The modelswill be equipped with better thrusters,tailored systems for positioning, varioussensors and a connection link to thecomputerised DP system.

"We already have a Qualisyscamera system that givesdetailed information about themodel position and itsmovements. The DP computeris now connected to thiscamera system. We can alsomake more accuratemeasurements of reactionspeed, movements, turns,speed, torque and thrust," saysVeikko Immonen, responsiblefor technical development.

Challenges with ice"Most specialised vessels have DPsystems, but they don't work well in ice asthe system easily gets confused. In openwater, the wind, wave and current forces

are relatively constant and do not changequickly. Ice forces on the other hand arehigh, change fast and circumstances canvary from open water to big ice ridges. Iceis simply so powerful that a DP systemand a ship's propulsion cannot react fastenough," Mr Kiili explains.

"An additional challenge is the coldtemperature, which means that theequipment has to be winterised so that itdoes not freeze. Positioning can becomea further difficulty, as GPS signals are notalways exact in the far North and otherposition referencing systems can beaffected by fog and snowfall. Part of thechallenge is to avoid the ice reaching thepropellers."

"In more severe ice conditions the DPsystem needs information about thesurrounding ice field and a method toforecast incoming forces. If the ice loadscould be forecasted in advance, the ship'smachinery and propulsion would haveenough time to react. There is still a lot ofdevelopment to be done. Now that wehave the DP system in place for modeltesting, we can use it for customerprojects to help find the solutions forchallenging operations," Mr Kiilihighlights.

Model DP in action.Qualisys cameras are usedfor position referencing.

Improved DynamicPositioning in ice

13

Aker Arctic's ice simulator wasdisplayed at the SMMExhibition in Hamburg lastSeptember and at theNaviGate Exhibition in Turku inNovember. Many interestedparties approached us andpraised the visual choices andreal feel of the simulator. Sincethen, new features have beenadded and more will come.

With the ice simulator, operations in icecan be simulated and vessel's behaviourin ice can be practised in advance. It canalso be used for planning, e.g. whenvessels have not even been constructedyet and plans are still possible to change.

The ice simulator has been praised asvisually appealing and very realistic. Icebreaks in the simulation in the same wayas in real life and ice and vesselinteraction is correct.“Last month for example, we hadicebreaker captains join us at the FinnishMaritime Academy Aboa Mare in Turku totest the ice simulator," Project ManagerJorma Koponen says. "Their commentswere truly positive.

According to them, a training tool like thiswas unthinkable a few years ago. Theythought it was useful and the effects ofice were clearly present. They also gaveus valuable input on how to furtherimprove the simulator tool.”

New featuresRadar function is a newly added feature,which is unique to our ice simulator.When a vessel navigates in an ice field,the radar shows the tracks or theopenings in the ice field exactly as in reallife, without using a “ScanFaker”. This isa valuable feature since the radar is animportant tool in real life when theoperator determinates where to navigateand tries to find the most safe andeconomical route through an ice field.

"Software Developer Mr Martti Kesäniemihas joined us from Microsoft tostrengthen our team and will furtherdevelop the program. New features willbe added in relation to icebreaking andtowing functions will be improved.Inclining effect, the breaking of ice, andpressing and moving ice fields will beadded too. When customers buy theprogram, they might want new featuresand this can be considered, if they arefeasible, therefore improvements dependslightly on what our customers wish for,"Mr Koponen points out.

Feasibility study for Yamal LNGLast year, our first feasibility study wasconducted for Yamal LNG using the icesimulator. Aker Arctic has designed theconcepts for LNG-carriers for exports ofLNG to the market, as well as designingan Arctic heavy module carrier fortransporting LNG train modules to thesite along with the assisting icebreakingtug to ensure efficient all-year operations.The ice simulator was programmed toinclude the exact design of the port, oneArctic heavy module carrier and oneicebreaking tug. Our customer could thennavigate the vessels in different weatherand ice conditions and test how theharbour and vessels will work and ifthere was any need to adjust plans.

“The Polar Code will include compulsoryice navigation training for deck officersbefore going to Polar areas. Using ourice simulator would be the easiest way toarrange training, so we believe it willbecome very useful in the future. Wehave now installed a small ice simulatorat the Helsinki headquarters to use as atest bench and maybe even forcustomers to try, in addition to the fullmission bridge simulator tool available atAboa Mare in Turku," Mr Koponenexplains.

Ice simulatorattracts attention

Arctic Passion News No 9

Captain Tom Ekegren from ArctiaShipping tried the ice simulator at theFinnish Maritime Academy Aboa Mare inTurku. According to him, a training toollike this was unthinkable a few yearsago. He thought it was useful and theeffects of ice were clearly present.Captain Ekegren also gave us valuableinput on how to further improve thesimulator tool.

March 2015

Yamal LNG Port of Sabetta feasibility studies, Captain SampoKarppinen from ZPMC - Red Box Energy Services is steering.In the picture Captain Karppinen is reversing the Heavy ModuleCarrier in 1 m level ice and isand in the picture above right hemaneuvering the vessel to the quay in 3 m brash ice.

Test arrangement

Four different structure designs weretested during the test series, one straightcylinder and three conical structures, withvarious cone angles.

Three separate measurements weremade for each structure: global ice loadswere measured from the base of thestructure, local loads were measuredfrom the panel, which was located at thewater line and, additionally, the pressuredistribution of the panel was measuredwith pressure foil provided by theTechnical Research Centre of Finland(VTT Oy).

Testing method"The test series consisted of six test days.Each model was tested in 0.6 m thick iceand two of the models also in 1.0 m thickice," says Topi Leiviskä, Riikka Matalaand Jukka-Pekka Sallinen from Researchand Testing Services, who planned,performed and analysed the tests.

“The ice movement was simulated bymoving the model instead of ice. Themodel was fixed to an underwatercarriage, which was pushed through theice field at the desired ice drifting speed.”

"The test ice conditions were level iceand an ice ridge. A triangular ice ridgewas constructed for this purpose. Themodels were first moved through the iceridge and then through the level ice. Wetried to find the most challengingsituations possible," Ms Matala continues.

Panel covered with thepressure sensitive foil

Water level

False bottom

Pushing rod

3-component forcetransducers (3 pieces)

Tank bottom

In 2014, Aker Arcticperformed ice modeltests for TechnipOffshore Finland Oy,where ice loads on anoffshore windturbine's foundationstructure werestudied.

Four different structure designs were tested.

“Tests were recorded with several videocameras from various angles. Three ofthe angles and a load measurementsignal were synchronised to a quad-viewvideo feed, which gave us an opportunityto visually observe how ice impacts affectthe ice loads,” Mr Sallinen explains.

Reasons for testingThere were two reasons for performingthe tests. The main reason was to surveythe cone angle effect on ice loads andvibrations on structure in order to find thetechnically and economically optimaldesign, because the customer plans tobuild wind turbines in areas where thereis ice movement.

The potential wind turbines are intendedfor the Baltic Sea area, where icethickness is usually about 0.6 m. Only inextreme situations can the ice grow up to0.8 m thickness.

"The second reason was to calibrate anew mathematical model for ice loads,which is created by the TechnicalResearch Centre of Finland (VTT). Forthis purpose the test series includedadditional ice measurements, e.g. ice-icefriction, compressive strength and punch-testing," Ms Matala outlines.

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Arctic Passion News No 9 March 2015

Ice model tests forTechnip

15


Ice conditions at testing

Three video views and a loadmeasurement signal weresynchronised to one video toimprove analysis.

For this project a new technique tocreate a triangular profile ice ridge wasused. This method can also be used forother tests in the future.

Benefits of testsThe test results will be used to choose the optimal structuredesign.Additionally, ice-induced vibrations can become a challengeand by using the results from the tests the chosen structurecan be optimised with structural design to bear vibrations.

"Our customer Technip Offshore Finland was actively involvedin the model testing and analysing work and we are nowplanning further testing," Mr Leiviskä says.

"This systematic test program provided new informationmefrom the interaction between the ice and the structure," addsSenior Engineering Manager Jukka Leppänen from Technip.

16

The planned date of entry into force isthe first of January 2017 for new ships.Older ships will have to meet therequirements by the time of their firstintermediate or renewal survey after firstof January 2018.

The Polar Code will be mandatory underboth SOLAS (International Conventionfor the Safety of Life at Sea) andMARPOL (International Convention forthe prevention of Pollution from Ships).

Compulsory operation manualAccording to the Polar Code, each vesseloperating in the Polar waters has to havea vessel specific Polar Water OperationManual (PWOM) onboard."This is something we at Aker Arctic willbe able to help our customers with. A listof proposed contents can be foundbelow. Until now, there has not been adecision on how this manual will beadministered," says Arto Uuskallio, Salesand Marketing Manager and followingIMO's decisions.

"One part of the Polar Code concernstraining. A general guidance is in placealready for what kind of training will berequired, but development workcontinues on this matter. Our icesimulator will be an excellent tool to usefor training once the criteria are clear. Adecision was made that it will be possibleto use an Ice Advisor while sailing inPolar areas if the crew does not have thesufficient experience required by thePolar Code. No exceptions from the rulewill be allowed, even for single journeys."

Evaluation model for vesselsA correspondence group has beenfounded to outline an evaluation modelfor vessels and freezing areas under theworking name "Polaris". The idea is tocreate a mathematical formula fordifferent ice conditions that enablescaptains to evaluate whether they canenter and operate their vessel in a certain

area. Icebreaker assistance also has tobe evaluated as part of this system. Aworking group will very likely be initiatedto further develop this matter during thenext meeting.

"The Polar Code is the first mandatorylegislation for ships addressing potentialhazards unique to Arctic and Antarcticenvironment, such as ice, remotenessand rapidly changing severe weatherconditions, and provides goals andfunctional requirements related to shipdesign, construction, equipment,operations and training, as well as searchand rescue. The newly adopted resolutionhas received criticism from differentparties for being too much of acompromise and therefore not thepowerful directive it was envisioned to be.In order to keep the schedule, manychallenging issues had to be left out fromthe first version of the code. But at leastnow it has been developed to a certainstage and the development work willcontinue. The code will be updated withso called circulars, which will includeupdates to the Polar Code," Mr Uuskalliooutlines.

Model of Polar WaterOperation Manual1. Operational capabilities and limitationsChapter 1 - Operation in iceChapter 2 - Operation in lowtemperaturesChapter 3 - Communication andnavigation capabilities in high latitudesChapter 4 - Voyage duration

2. Ship operationsChapter 1 - Strategic planningChapter 2 - Arrangements for receivingforecasts on environmental conditionsChapter 3 - Verification of hydrographic,meteorological and navigationalinformationChapter 4 - Operation of specialequipmentChapter 5 - Procedures to maintainequipment functionality

3. Risk managementChapter 1 - Risk mitigation in limitingenvironmental conditionChapter 2 - Emergency responseChapter 3 - Coordination with emergencyresponse servicesChapter 4 - Procedures for maintaininglife support and ship integrity in the eventof prolonged entrapment by ice4. Joint operations

Chapter 1 - Escorted operationsChapter 2 - Convoy operations


Ice conditions Tankers Passenger ships Other

Ice free Not applicable Not applicable Not applicable

Open waters Basic training for Basic training formaster, chief mate master, chief mateand officers in and officers incharge of a charge of anavigational watch navigational watch

Other waters Advanced training for Advanced training for Advanced training formaster and chief mate. master and chief mate. master and chief mate.Basic training for Basic training for Basic training forofficers in charge of a officers in charge of a officers in charge of anavigational watch. navigational watch. navigational watch.

Polar Code adoptedDuring the 94th session ofthe International MaritimeOrganization IMO'sMaritime Safety Committeeheld in November 2014, theInternational Code for ShipsOperating in Polar Waters,commonly referred to as thePolar Code, was adoptedas well as relatedamendments to theInternational Convention forthe Safety of Life at Sea(SOLAS).

The Arctic map was updated to include the specific coordinates where the Polar Codeapplies. The Antarctic map remained untouched and the Polar Code will apply on allareas south of latitude S 60 degrees.

A rough draft is in place for the kind of training which will be required, butdevelopment work is still continuing concerning this matter. Our ice simulator will bean excellent tool to use for training once the criteria are clear.

9thArctic Passion Seminar

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The seakeeping tests of the icebreakingTrimaran were made in cooperation withthe Technical Research Centre ofFinland (VTT) in their test basin.The test matrix was fairly comprehensiveand included both regular and irregularwaves and five different encounterangles (0°-180°) with zero vessel speedand various wave heights andfrequencies. In addition, a 180°encounter angle was tested with velocityahead. Tests with regular waves wereconducted with a constant wave height of1.0m and over a wide wave frequencyrange to obtain RAOs for differentquantities. The motions andaccelerations were tested in irregularwaves using JONSWAP wave spectrumand significant wave heights of 2.0m and4.0m to gain deeper understanding of thebehaviour of the Trimaran concept and tomeasure maximum loads. Theinstrumentation included forcemeasurements between the main hulland side hulls, accelerometers atdifferent locations, relative motion

sensors to measure the relative waveelevation, global movementmeasurement and slamming pressuresensors on the cross-deck.

Early results and observations"The analysis of the test results is notwholly available yet but the observationsmade during the tests, and preliminaryresults, indicate that the Trimaranbehaves rather well in waves, and nomajor problems were found. The rollangles and accelerations are verymoderate despite the large GM. Even in4.0m significant wave heights the sidehulls stay in water and do not submergeexcessively. Generally, the motions ofthe vessels were moderate in all testedconditions with zero speed. The largestaccelerations and motions weremeasured in the bow of the vessel, whilethe stern had lower accelerations andsmaller motions, which is favourable forusing the large stern deck as a workingdeck. The clearance between cross-deckand water surface also seems sufficient,as only a very few, low energy contactsbetween cross-deck bottom and waveswere observed," Structural Engineer VilleValtonen explains.

Seakeeping test foricebreaking trimaran


The test matrix was fairlycomprehensive and included bothregular and irregular waves and fivedifferent encounter angles (0°-180°).

Pictures on the left:Seakeeping tests of the Trimaranconcept, motions in waves with H =s

4.0m, T = 9.0s and φ = 135°p

Seakeeping tests of the Trimaranconcept, motion in waves with H = 4.0m,s

T = 9.0s and φ = 45°p

Seakeeping tests of the Trimaranconcept, motion in waves with H = 4.0m,s

T = 9.0s and φ = 180°p

“Based on the early results andobservations, the vessel can operate in4.0m significant wave height withoutproblems. With stern waves, the 4.0msignificant wave height seems to beabout the upper limit, but in beam orhead waves, it seems that even moresevere sea states would not cause anymajor issues. It has to be noted thatlarger waves tend to have longerperiods, and are therefore less severe fora relatively small vessel, as thewavelength exceeds the vesseldimensions significantly, whereas waveswith a length fairly similar to the vesseldimensions are likely to cause the mostsevere motions. Some examples of thevessel motions in waves are shown inthe pictures . The results of theseabovetests will be used to further develop thehull form and vessel concept," MrValtonen says.

A series of seakeeping modeltests was made for ourTrimaran concept in Augustand October 2014.These tests were madebecause the hull form andproportions of the icebreakingTrimaran differ significantlyfrom all existing vessels.

1818 2

March 2015Arctic Passion News No 9 March 2015March 2015

The Aker Arctic developed Obliqueicebreaker has begun services inBaltikaKronstadt, outside St. Petersburg. Theofficial delivery ceremony was held in St.Petersburg on 20 February 2015.

th

"After delivery, the vessel will enter intooperation. Our aim is to perform full-scaleice tests this spring," Chief Designer MikaHovilainen says.

The Oblique icebreaker is a uniqueconcept with an asymmetric hull, whichenables sideways movement foricebreaking or oil spill collection.

The Aker ARC 130 A concept.

Oblique icebreaker begins operations

“Our responsibility was firstthe design concept and thenthe basic design work, whichwas completed before con-struction began in October2014. The development workwas carried out in closecooperation with the owners,ZPMC-Red Box EnergyServices, and they are nowsupervising the constructionwork at Guangzhou ShipyardInternational in China,"Project Manager Heikki Sipiläsays.

"The vessels are challengingto build as they are unique,high powered and heavily ice-strengthened so as tomanage the harsh conditionsin the Arctic. The first vesselshould be ready, according toschedule, in February 2016,and the second vessel twomonths later. After the shipdelivery we will participate infull-scale ice trials to ensurethe vessel meets thecapability requirements andto confirm its operationalfunctionality."

Arctic module carrier under

construction

Novy Port is a new loadingterminal development, plannedin the Gulf of Ob, which will beused for oil shipments from anearby oil field to Murmansk.Gazprom Neft will construct theloading terminal and SamsungHeavy Industries has beencontracted to construct sixtankers for the oil shipments. Acooperation agreement, whichincludes e.g. model tests for

the tankers and assistance inthe design, has been signedwith Aker Arctic.

Two icebreakers based onAker ARC 130 A conceptdeveloped by Aker Arctic willbe constructed for assisting thetankers in the harbour and ontheir route to the terminal andduring loading operations. Thefirst vessel with similar concept(Aker ARC 130) is currentlybeing built in Finland for theFinnish Transport Agency andwill be the first LNG-fuelledicebreaker. The icebreakers forGazprom Neft will be slightlydifferent as they will not useLNG as fuel and will have astronger hull and more powerthan the Finnish icebreaker.

Cooperation agreement for Novy ortP

Aker Arctic has designed two Polar classheavy module carriers for the safetransportation of construction modules for theYamal LNG plant in Sabetta. Construction ofthese carriers is now underway in China.

A cooperation agree-ment has recentlybeen signed withSamsung HeavyIndustries for assis-tance in the design ofthe tankers for Arcticproject Novy Port.

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The winter navigation system in theBaltic Sea can be divided into threeparts: traffic restriction, ice and trafficmanagement, and icebreakerassistance. As part of the Trans-European Transport Network TEN-T, theEU-funded WINMOS project aims tosafeguard resources for the future,improve environmental performance anddevelop cooperation between nationalicebreaking services.

"There are seven parts to the project, ofwhich Aker Arctic participates in parts1,2,5 and 7," Mika Hovilainen, the AkerArctic representative in the WINMOS-project presents.

1. Study on future demand oficebreaking capabilityThe aim is to create a simulation tool forsimulating winter navigation systems onthe Baltic Sea. It will be used to evaluatehow the entire transportation systemworks when circumstances change.Decisions on future strategy requireassessment on which way is the mostefficient in the future. It also includesstudies on how new legislation, such asEEDI, affects icebreaking needs andmaritime traffic overall.

2. Concept study on next generationicebreakerTo create and evaluate how differenticebreaker concepts work, e.g. theIcebreaking Trimaran and the Oblique

icebreaker. Different selected conceptsshall be compared to Atle/Urho classicebreakers. In addition a study of fuelpossibilities, different ownership,chartering and operating arrangementsand financing options will be compiled.

3. Improvement of environmentalperformanceSeveral of the existing Baltic Seaicebreakers have old engines thatgenerate emissions that should bereduced. A pilot project with a new fuelinjection technique will be implementedon an existing icebreaker.

4. Deployment of next generationIB-NetThe high frequency of arrivals anddepartures from ice-infected portsrequire an ITS-tool to manage theicebreaking activities and closecooperation between Finnish andSwedish icebreakers. The existingIcebreaking Network IBNet tool isbecoming outdated and is in need ofmodernisation.

5. Human element and trainingfacilitiesMarine officers require speciallydesigned training for operations in lowtemperatures and navigation in ice-infested waters. The Aker Arcticdeveloped Ice simulator is being used aspart of improved training possibilities formarine officers.

6. Technical upgrading and life

extension of the icebreakersActions must be taken to ensure thatexisting icebreakers are upgraded tomeet icebreaking demands in the future.A program for upgrades andenhancements will be set in place.

7. Acquisition of new icebreakingresourcesA significant amount of Baltic icebreakersare getting old. In order to ensure year-round maritime traffic, new resourcesmust be built. As part of this project anew icebreaker concept will bedeveloped and built for the severe iceconditions in Northern parts of the BalticSea.

"The project will continue until the end of2015. The project partners areadministrations and governmentalenterprises in Finland, Sweden andEstonia: Swedish MaritimeAdministration, Finnish Transport Agency,Estonian Maritime Administration, FinnishMeteorological Institute, Aalto University,Aker Arctic , ILS ,technology Inc LtdImageSoft Ltd. and University of AppliedSciences Novia. One of the key questionis how new energy efficiencyrequirements and environmentalprotection legislation impacts the BalticSea transportation system in differentwinter conditions," Mr Hovilainen pointsout.


Sea ice is a barrier that hampers unimpeded sea transport inthe Baltic Sea area and has an impact on transport and tradewithin the European Union.The icebreaking services provided by countries around theBaltic Sea is an important part of the maritime infrastructure andis a prerequisite for trade and sea transports all year round.A EU project to safeguard winter navigation has been set inplace, in which also Aker Arctic participates.

Aker Arctic participates in winter navigation project

The Vice Premier of China, Wang Yang,visited Finland in November 2014 on theinvitation of Finnish Prime MinisterAlexander Stubb. Economic issues,trade between Finland and China,matters concerning agriculture andforestry, and cultural issues were amongthe main themes of the visit. PremierWang Yang also visited Aker Arctic onthe 19th November. Aker Arctic isdesign an advanced polar researchingvessel for the Polar Research Institute ofChina.

China's Vice Premier

Wang Yang visited

Aker Arctic

20

Arctic Shipping Forum, Helsinki

24 - 26 February 2015

ATC Copenhagen23 - 25 March 2015

OTC Houston4 - 7 May 2015

Moscow International Oil & Gas(MIOGE)23 - 26 June 2015

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 March 2015 Grano

Meet us here!

We will participate in the following events:

Arctic Passion News No 8Arctic Passion News No 9

FastScoop was a newgame for many of us.

Neva 2015, St. Petersburg22 - 25 September 2015

Marintec China 2015, Shanghai1 - 4 December 2015

March 2015

Aker Arctic's ice simulatorwas shown at SMM Exhibitionin Hamburg last Septemberand at NaviGate Exhibition inTurku in November. Manyinterested parties approachedus and praised the visualchoices and real feel of thesimulator.

The festive event took place in thecentre of Helsinki at Ostrobotnia'sBallroom, which is located in thehistorical Ostrobotnia building datingfrom 1912. Through its 100 years ofexistence, it has been a popular placefor student gatherings. The ballroomitself is decorated with paintings ofprominent persons from Finnish history.Managing Director Reko-Antti Suojanen,retired Managing Director Mikko Niini

and Chairman Ole Johansson spoke atthe event and reminisced about historicalevents in the company's past, leadingAker Arctic to become the company it isnow. Nearly five decades earlier, the firstmodel-testing basin in Finland was readyand having gone through differentowners, Aker Arctic finally became anindependent ice technology company in

January 200 . From initially twelve5persons, there are now close to fiftyemployees and the turnover is 10 millioneuros. The hard work all have done inorder to achieve this was well worthcelebrating!

Read more about Aker Arctic's history onpage 4.

Celebrating

Aker Arctic's 10th

anniversary

Aker Arctic celebrates tenyears as an independent icetechnology company thisyear. For this occasion, allcurrent and retired employeesaccompanied by theirpartners gathered for aspecial evening celebrationin January.

The ice propeller development project byAker Arctic, the Technical ResearchCenter of Finland VTT Oy and TEVO Oyis proceeding. The target of the project isto develop the design by using bronzematerial, which is suitable for ice goingships. Special emphasis is put on thedimensioning and low noise criteria.Aker Arctic´s responsibility is the marketanalysis, which creates the requirementsfor the design, dimensioning criteria anddesign of the test propeller. The plan isto install the real propeller on a vessel

The bronze propeller has many benefitssuch as good corrosion resistance, it iseasy to manufacture and maintain and ithas a competitive price.

and make full-scale tests in ice.VTT will develop the programs to beused in the design and make the testarrangements.TEVO is heading the project and alsomanufactures the test propeller.The target is that the project results areavailable in spring 2016.

Ice propeller development proceeds

Tevo O

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