Offshore Technology

SPECIAL | OFFSHORE TECHNOLOGY
Arctic knowledge at DNV
informs risk management
ARCTIC SHIPPING DNV has class notations covering the entire spectrum of cold climate operations
ranging from control of icing in open waters to ice-breaking abilities in temperatures
as low as -55˚C and in recognition of the rapidly changing physical and business environment in
the Arctic. This offers now greater fl exibility in winterisation notations.
Wendy Laursen
As recently as two years ago, it was estimated
that the north-eastern Arctic
shipping route would be open for
most of the year in ten to 15 years time, but
the latest Norwegian research predicts that
this may happen earlier than that. Icebergs
forming in the region, some weighing over
six million tonnes, are the largest moving
objects on earth.
Johan Tutturen, DNV business director for
tankers, presented research results at the
Mare Forum, Athens, in March 2008 that
quantifi ed the value of the most important
risk control options for Arctic shipping.
Based on a shuttle tanker project intended
for operation in Arctic waters, the research
used known risk elements from worldwide
operation but added additional risk elements
for both cold climate and ice.
The project revealed that redundant propulsion
offers a 6 % reduction in the likelihood
of accidents involving collision,
grounding, fi re and explosion. Use of an
automatic identifi cation system and electronic
chart display as well as information
systems offer a further 6 % reduction. Setting
high standards in bridge resource management
and the selection and trai ning of
crew can reduce risk by 44 % and minimising
noise and vibration levels when travelling
through ice can reduce risk by a further
12 %.
Previous studies have shown that ships
built with additional DNV class notations
for nautical and bridge safety experience
risk reductions of nearly 50 %. Most accidents
at sea are caused by human error
and harsh climatic conditions can result
in poor quality rest, reduced alertness and
concentration and poor speech intelligibility.
The main objective of DNV’s NAUT notation
is to reduce the risk of human failure
in bridge operations by specifying requirements
for workplace design, equipment
standards and operational procedures.
“There are many types of mitigating measures
that can be introduced to reduce cold
stress and they should be considered as
safety investments,” says Tutturen. “It all
boils down to risk management: identify-
ing the hazards, measuring specifi c risk elements
and the way they interact and then
evaluating and implementing control options.”
Oil and gas recovery in the Arctic is increasing
and DNV undertakes feasibility studies
and concept evaluations for these cold
climate activities. They use integrated risk
management tools that assess the total investment
risk over the full project life cycle.
Factors such as component reliability and
production profi les are used to develop
forecasting models and the use of probability
distributions in simulation model
input parameters allows uncertainty and
variation to be used in the development
of a quantifi ed risk picture for any revenue
stream.
“It is vitally important that ship owners
contemplating Arctic operations are
aware of the possible challenges connected
with their intended trading patterns.
Our research capability, extensive
experience and state-of-the-art simulation
techniques bring value to these of-
“Arctic Discoverer“ will be trading out of Hammerfest close to the Barents Sea. The vessel is managed by K Line and classed to DNV. Photo: DNV
Special 14 Schiff & Hafen | Juni 2008 | Nr. 6