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INDUSTRY - CYPRUS REPORT
Limassol’s ice experts
Not surprisingly for a shipmanagement company having Russian principals, Limassolbased
Unicom Management Services is heavily involved in ice class tankers.
Sovcomflot's
shipmanagement arm
currently handles
around 15 ice class
tankers. Currently a further 11
newbuildings are either under
construction, or on order. One of
the main reasons for this
investment in ice class tankers is
that loading terminals located in
environmentally challenging
positions, such as Primorsk, are
ramping up their operations
enabling an ever greater volume
of tonnage to be handled all
year round.
Unicom will also manage five
70,000 dwt newbuilding tankers,
which are specifically being built
for operation in Arctic waters
where extreme weather conditions
can be encountered. The vessels
are under construction at Samsung
and Admiralty shipyard St
Petersburg and will be delivered
2007 - 2009.
The main areas of expansion
for ice class tanker traffic are the
Baltic, White Sea, Kara Sea,
Barents Sea, plus the newly
developed terminal at De Kastri
off Sakhalin Island. On average
tanker traffic will have to
contend with temperatures as
14
low as - 15 ° C in the Baltic and
a massive - 35 ° C in the Arctic.
Speaking at TANKEROperator's
Ice Class Tanker Conference in
Hamburg recently, David Sharp,
Unicom's marine and safety
manager said that to operate in
severe weather conditions, the
right ships, people and regulations
are needed. Unicom is working
closely with Russian, international
research institutes and industry
groups developing best practice
guidelines and training
programmes for both ship and
shore staff. He gave a list of
hazards to look out for, which
included:
1) Strong growth in tanker
traffic.
2) Rescue operations in ice
conditions.
3) Ship manoeuvring capability
in ice.
4) Combating oil spills in ice
and cold conditions.
5) Untrained crew not used to
winter conditions.
6) Stoppages in icebreaking
operations.
7) Navigational errors in ice
conditions.
8) Lack of traffic separation
zones.
Special training and equipment are needed to cope with conditions
such as these.
David Sharp - Right ships, people and regulations needed.
9) Quickly changing ice
conditions.
10) Icing of equipment, deck,
tanks etc.
Explaining further, he said that
the icebreaking fleet were
normally only about 22 m wide
compared with a large tanker of
twice the beam, resulting in a
too narrow path being cut
through the ice for today's large
beamy vessels.
High definition radar is also an
asset when navigating in ice,
effective use being another
training issue, which again comes
back to training the right people,
Sharp said. Another example is
the forecastle anchor and mooring
equipment, which need heating in
low temperatures. Arrangements
are required for sea chests,
steering gear, emergency
generator and the deck machinery
hydraulics, which cannot be water
cooled for fear of icing and they
all need to be accessible in
conditions where temperatures
can go down to - 35 ° C. The
loading equipment, manifold,
cargo control equipment will also
need heating arrangements.
The ballast tank vents will
need steam heating, while the
ballast water exchange becomes
a problem as does the fire
fighting equipment.
There are also lifeboat and raft
limitations in extreme
temperatures and ice conditions.
The liferafts need to be of a
special design while the ships'
ladders need to be ice free. "How
do you clean up an oil spill? How
do you get the oil off the ice?" he
queried. Operators of Russia's
Arctic and Far East oil and gas
projects are paying particular
attention to environmental issues.
Unicom undertakes its seafarer
training in St Petersburg and
Nakhodka and when sourcing
potential crew, Russian seafarers
come high up the list. Sharp also
warned, "We must reward people
for going to sea in such
conditions."
Unicom celebrated its 15th
anniversary during March of last
year and now has a total of 62
ships in its managed portfolio,
plus another 15 on order. TO
TANKEROperator • March 2007