Lloyd’s List- Rongsheng stock soars, then dumped
- States seek international response to piracy
- We didn't start price war, says Maersk chief Andersen
- Maersk Tankers slides to $28m loss in first quarter
- West African suezmax market ‘on fire’
- Paradip imports first iron ore cargo
- Simmering stand-off
- Guardcon’s wording is not the problem, say insurers
- China’s coal imports hit record highs
- Bristol Port welcomes its longest vessel
-
About the Journey
Welcome to my blog, live from a shuttle tanker in the Arctic.
I have joined the crew of the Sovcomflot-operated Kapitan Gotsky for a journey across the Barents Sea from Murmansk to the Varandey terminal and back.
My daily updates filed from the tanker will examine life at sea first hand and should offer a unique insight into the challenges of modern ice-navigation.
Having spent a number of years working as a navigating office on oil tankers around the world I hope to use this return trip to sea to examine how these vessels are operated in today’s rapidly-developing market.
Kapitan Gotsky is one of three 70,000 dwt crude oil tankers operated by Russian operator Sovcomflot and I have joined the vessel on one of its regular trips shuttling crude from the Varandey oil field to Murmansk. Depending on weather, the whole journey should be a 10-day round trip.
The Arctic has been the subject of a huge amount of attention due to its role in the climate change debate, and its position as holding some of the world’s last hydrocarbon reserves.
These two topics ensure that discussion about the arctic region’s can become intense.
In the short and middle term we remain dependent on hydrocarbons, increasingly so on those in these extreme parts of the world and are dependent on the shipping that is required to secure them.
Arctic operations are probably some of the most challenging facing both man and technology. The vessels that operate year round in these waters have to endure some of the most challenging conditions, as have the crew. For two months of the year they will see no daylight, and for a further two months there will be no night time darkness. The winter can reach 40 degrees Celsius below zero with harsh wind and thick ice.
I hope to be able to see how different ice navigation is, and how the challenges are overcome, how the crew endure the harsh conditions and how the ship is designed to withstand the pressures of such low temperatures.
Safety is an important factor in shipping. These vessels have been built to a very specific criteria set by the owners and charters and built by Samsung. The navigation, cargo handling and fire and safety equipment will all have to have been designed for the cold climate the vessel is in, as well as the mandatory requirements set by the Russian authorities and the International Maritime Organization
The Arctic is sensitive to change according to environmental scientists, I hope to see how the environmental impacts of shipping are mitigated and get a feel for the region from the people up there.
There are some questions I want to see the answer to: How does an officer spot thicker ice? The ballast water has to be heated top stop it freezing. How warm is it, how much energy does this take? Is there an impact of adding volumes of warm ballast water into the same place of the sea every two or three days? How are other water inlets controlled to prevent freezing? How efficient is the deck steam system in removing ice form the deck manifolds and mooring equipment? Does the radar scanner freeze? How good are the pods in manoeuvring in ice?