Arctic designs: Precipitated by the discovery of bountiful oil and gas reserves around Russia's Yamal peninsula, a new generation of icebreakers and ice-classed tankers will soon enter service

摘要

Finnish naval architect consultancy Aker Arctic has been deeply involved in the development of vessels -both tankers and icebreakers-for an oil project in the Gulf of Ob in Northern Russian. Small-scale oil drilling at the Novoportovskoye oil and gas field carried out in 2012 revealed the presence of significant quantities of high-quality low-sulphur oil. The plan to commercialise the find will see production ramped up to 5.5 million tonnes per year from 2017. Novy Port terminal, owned by Gazprom Neft Novy Port LLC and currently under construction at Cape Kamenny, will serve as a hub to export the resulting oil to market. The operational challenges arise because the area is characterised both by shallow waters and, as might be expected, harsh winters during which the ice cover can growto 2m thick and then remain in place for up to nine months.