Ice Management News

Steerprop announced it has been chosen to provide a Polar Class 4 (PC 4) propulsion package for the Canadian Coast Guard's Multi-Purpose Vessels (MPV) renewal program.The contract entails the supply of propulsion packages for the initial six MPVs, integral to Canada's National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS). Steerprop's solution comprises two tunnel thrusters for auxiliary propulsion and two Contra-Rotating Propulsors (CRP) for main propulsion, engineered to meet the operational…

In the commercial maritime and offshore industries, where worker safety and competency are crucial, effective training practices are an absolute must. While hands-on, in-the-field learning will always be a vital component of any mariner’s training, marine simulation has become a welcome enhancement to the education process. And in some cases, it’s seen as a safer alternative to traditional survival craft and rescue boat training.A leader in this space is Virtual Marine, based in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Canada-based marine simulation training firm Virtual Marine Technology Inc. announced it has signed a strategic market representation agreement with New Zealand's Global Marine Technical Services (GMTS), extending its in-country coverage to Australia and New Zealand. The deal includes representation for Virtual Marine’s products within New Zealand and Australia, as well as other areas in the Indo-Pacific region.With a range of desktop to full mission motion systems, Virtual Marine…

A new icebreaking tugboat built by Blount Boats in Rhode Island has been delivered to the New York Power Authority (NYPA) to work in the Niagara River to help alleviate shoreline flooding and reduce the likelihood of ice limiting the power production at large hydro plants along the Niagara River. The Breaker II joins a fleet of three boats that work every winter to install the Lake Erie—Niagara River Ice Boom—a series of 22 spans of steel pontoons that straddle the mouth of the…

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (SLSDC) announced it has taken delivery of its new 118-foot icebreaking tug, the Seaway Guardian, in Massena, N.Y. Built by Gulf Island Shipyards in Houma, La., the vessel is the first new tug to join SLSDC since the Seaway opened 61 years ago.The new $24 million tug will primarily be used for buoy maintenance and ice management on the St. Lawrence Seaway, replacing the long-serving 62-year-old Robinson Bay, which the SLSDC will maintain as backup.

German propulsion manufacturer SCHOTTEL said it has been selected to equip a newly built harbor tugboat for the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (SLSDC) with medium-sized azimuth thrusters. The vessel is under construction at the U.S. shipyard Washburn & Doughty in Maine. The HT-60, the smallest in the harbor tug series developed by the Seattle-based naval architecture firm Glosten, is scheduled for delivery in 2021.Craig Middlebrook, Deputy Administrator of the SLSDC, said, “This new vessel will be used to carry out a variety of construction and maintenance duties for the U.S.

The Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (SLSDC) has placed an order for a newbuild ASD (Z-drive) harbor tug to be delivered by Washburn & Doughty Associates, Inc. of East Boothbay, Maine.Craig Middlebrook, Deputy Administrator of the SLSDC, said, “This new vessel will be used to carry out a variety of construction and maintenance duties for the US portion of the St. Lawrence Seaway, including routine maintenance of lock gates, maintenance and positioning of aids to navigation…

The powerful 36 meter hybrid icebreaker tug Vilja was delivered to her Owner, Port of Luleå, on June 26th, 2019 at Gondan Shipyard in Spain. On July 4th, Vilja arrived in Luleå and the crew was very satisfied with the first sailing experience and tug performance on the journey home. The vessel will soon be used for ice management, firefighting and navigation aids service duties in the Port of Luleå, Sweden and will assist ships and conduct coastal towing in the northern sector of the Gulf of Bothnia.Vilja is a 36 meter TundRA 3600–H, Icebreaking Escort Tug designed by Robert Allan Ltd.

Robert Allan Ltd (RAL) has been selected as the designer of new icebreaking tugs for Alfons Hakans, a major tugboat owner and operator in Finland.The collaboration between Alfons Hakans, with extensive practical experience in harbor tug operations and icebreaking, and Robert Allan Ltd., with its long history of icebreaking vessel and compact icebreaker-tug designs, resulted in the development of a unique, high-performance vessel.These new tugs will be specifically designed for year-round service in the Baltic Sea and particularly in the Northern Baltic Sea which is covered with heavy ice during winter.The TundRA series of tug designs…

Schoellhorn-Albrecht recently completed a contract to design and manufacture a Vertical Anchor Windlass and Thru Deck Capstan for St. Lawrence Seaways newest Ice Breaking Tug.The windlass was designed to ABS standards for a minimum design temperature of -25F°. Testing and certification was witnessed by ABS in our St. Louis facility. The Thru-Deck Capstan features a Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) control package, a right angle drive gearbox, 20 HP marine duty motor and 18” diameter barrel.

GONDAN Shipyard in Figueras, at high tide, has launched a new hybrid-powered icebreaking escort tug designed by Robert Allan Ltd for Port of Luleå (Sweden).This is an important step for GONDAN Shipbuilders in unique compact icebreaker development. Designed by Robert Allan Ltd., the new vessel is a TundRA 3600-H class icebreaker tug which reflects the generations of experience in the design of ice-class vessels by Robert Allan Ltd.The new tug is a RAL TundRA 3600-H class icebreaking design fully customized for the Port of Luleå operational requirements. The vessel is designed to perform icebreaking – it is capable of breaking 1 metre of ice at a speed of up to 3 knots- ice management…

Nowegian shipbuilder Kleven has delivered the fifth vessel in a series of six anchor handlers for Maersk Supply Service A/S.Built for deepwater operations, Mærsk Mobiliser of the so-called Starfish series is equipped with a range of innovative features, the builder said. The vessel is of Salt 200 design and has an open deck space of more than 800m2, with an additional covered deck space of 102m2. It is equipped with a 450-metric-ton anchor handling winch housed in an enclosed garage to protect the crew and the equipment in harsh conditions.

The European Commission has approved under EU State aid rules the extension of the existing Danish tonnage tax scheme to additional types of vessels.This will encourage ship registration in Europe and contribute to the global competitiveness of the sector without unduly distorting competition.At the same time, Denmark will amend its existing scheme to ensure that it applies only to genuine maritime shipping activities by limiting revenues from non-core activities to an acceptable level.Commissioner Margrethe Vestager in charge of competition policy, said: "Denmark's revised tonnage tax scheme will help the shipping industry remain competitive on the global market. It will preserve jobs and promote high environmental standards in the maritime transport sector.

A new hybrid-electric icebreaking escort tug for Sweden's Port of Luleå was launched on Monday at GONDAN Shipyard in Figueras, Spain.The new Robert Allan Ltd designed tug, Vilja, is a RAL TundRA 3600-H class icebreaking design fully customized for the Port of Luleå operational requirements. The vessel is designed to perform icebreaking – it is capable of breaking 1 meter of ice at a speed of up to 3 knots – ice management, escort, ship assist, coastal towing, firefighting and…

Finland is a traditional marine tech hub, with almost 90 company members in the Finnish Maritime Industries association. While the country has a storied maritime history across many sectors, based on geographic locale, it’s Arctic and ice marine technology is second to none, and it’s hoping the U.S. Coast Guard is taking notice.The Finnish maritime industry is hoping to get involved in developing the new icebreakers for the U.S. Coast Guard polar icebreaker program. Ulla Lainio…

Offshore Ship Designers (OSD) has unveiled a new series of Ice Class vessel designs, especially suited for marine services around the development of new arctic ports, terminals and offshore structures. A prerequisite for this type of vessel, operating under arctic conditions, is the ability to deal with the presence of first-year or floating ice, cold conditions and less developed shore facilities. Apart from the ability of the vessels to perform their specific tasks, typical design requirements are increased strength…

Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (SLSDC) has awarded a construction contract for a new TundRA 3600 ice class tug to shipbuilder Gulf Island Fabrication, to be built at their yard in Jennings, La. The SLSDC is a wholly owned U.S. government corporation tasked with operating and maintaining the St. Lawrence Seaway between Massena, N.Y. and Lake Ontario, within the territorial limits of the United States. The tug, which will be based in Massena, N.Y., will primarily operate between the Snell and Eisenhower locks with typical duties including icebreaking/ice-management services…

The Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB) has announced it has lifted the notice to suspend operations for the SeaRose floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel and associated facilities. The January 17, 2018 C-NLOPB notice to suspend operations resulted from an incident in March 2017 where Husky Energy (TSX:HSE) departed from its agreed Ice Management Plan by not disconnecting the vessel and sailing away when an iceberg entered its quarter-mile exclusion zone. “We could have and should have responded differently according to the pre-existing plan, and have learned from this incident,” said CEO Rob Peabody. “We will apply these lessons and share the learnings broadly in the region and across the company.

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) powered icebreaker Polaris has left its home base in Helsinki on Tuesday to become the third Finnish icebreaker active in this year’s icebreaking season. The nearly 110-meter-long Polaris is the world’s first LNG powered icebreaker, running on both LNG and marine diesel. The vessel will head to Tahkoluoto, Pori, to bunker LNG before joining fellow icebreakers Kontio and Otso which departed on December 18, 2017 and January 9 respectively. “The crew is very excited to begin icebreaking duty after a long summer and autumn,” said Pasi Järvelin, master of IB Polaris.

Spain's Gondan was tapped to build a tug designed by Robert Allan Ltd for the Port of Luleå (Sweden). Gondan’s new contract with Port of Luleå (Sweden) specifies a new hybrid-powered icebreaking escort tug -- a RAL TundRA 3600-H class icebreaking design. The vessel is designed to perform icebreaking (it is designed to break 1 meter of ice at a speed of up to 3 knots), ice management, escort, ship-assist, coastal towing, fire-fighting and navigation aids service duties. This 36m tug with a hull structure that exceeds Finnish-Swedish ice class rules and has high environmental standards will be classed by Lloyd’s Register. The vessel will be equipped with a hybrid propulsion system that will include two diesel main engines, shaft generators/motors and batteries for energy storage.

Sovcomflot’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier Christophe de Margerie made the world’s first-ever crossing of the Northern Sea in late August without the aid of an ice-breaker. The record-setting vessel is powered by ABB’s advanced Azipod electric propulsion technology. The 172,600 cubic meters Arctic LNG tanker, which features a lightweight steel reinforced hull, is the largest commercial ship to receive Arc7 certification, and is capable of travelling through ice up to 2.1m thick.

Deck officers and captains from Maersk Line have begun a series of ice navigation training courses at Aboa Mare in Turku, Finland. The first course was taught in July, with the rest scheduled to take place during the second half of 2017. The courses fulfill the Polar Code training requirements and are designed according to the particular needs of Maersk Line’s navigating officers, taking into account the Baltic Feeder newbuildings that will be delivered later this year. The Maersk Line officers will receive both Polar Code training as well as knowledge and skills essential to the operation of these newbuildings in ice and winter conditions.

St. CMS operates a range of marine simulation equipment that covers a broad range of marine and offshore activities. Much of the equipment is highly specialized and unique including fully motion capable simulators. The center also provides technical management and support of simulation equipment that is used by other parts of the Marine Institute. CMS simulation activities can be divided into three main areas; Training, Industrial Response, and Applied Research. To support these…