Introducing an icebreaking Arctic container ship

Aker Arctic has designed an 8000 TEU container ship for independent use in both summer and winter along the Northern Sea Route (NSR).

Aker Arctic has developed a The double-acting ship can manage Profitability explored completely new concept for the independently on the NSR year- In the economic study, prior to Northern Sea Route, an icebreak- round by turning stern-first in heavy beginning the vessel design, three ing Arctic container ship, which ice, whereas the shaftline version possible options were explored and can be used year-round to cover will need the assistance of an compared in terms of profitability: icebreaker during extreme winter the much shorter distance be- conditions, as it has lower icebreak- tween Asia and Europe. 1. A normal open water vessel ing capabilities. using the Suez Canal; the only Using the experience gained from route currently available for the breakthrough Arc7 LNG carri- Secondary steering position container shipping. ers, which have now successfully In other double acting ships, the 2. A new Arctic container vessel transported liquefied natural gas deckhouse is usually located in the for shipments between Asian from Sabetta for more than three stern and it is possible to navigate and European ports. years, and the new Arctic LNG backwards from the bridge. In a 3. A new Arctic containership carrier design for independent container vessel, this is not practical used only on the icy parts of year-round operation in the Arctic, as the area is needed for contain- the NSR, with two new re- Aker Arctic designed an 8000 TEU ers, and the deckhouse is usually loading hubs at either end for container ship for independent use positioned in a midship location. further transportation of con- in both summer and winter along tainers, one in Murmansk and the Northern Sea Route (NSR). “Therefore, in this case, we have positioned a special aft wheelhouse another in Kamchatka. “No such type of container ship has at the aft mooring deck for navigat- The results showed the obvious: the been available before,” says Luigi ing stern first,” says Portunato. unit cost per TEU decreases when Portunato, Naval Architect at Aker the size of the vessel increases Arctic. The machinery is separated from the accommodation and wheel- for all options. Although the drop was more significant for the Arctic Double-acting containership house. Because of the freezing temperatures in the Arctic winter, alternatives, it is, however, difficult Besides an ice-strengthened hull, a covered passageway has been to establish the exact point when an icebreaking bow and winterisa- arranged under the deck instead either of the two Northern Sea tion features, there are other spe- of the usual transfer path along the Route options becomes more prof- cialities incorporated in the design deck. itable than the Suez Canal route, as which sets the vessel apart. there are many factors influencing the costs, such as fuel price, type of “The vessel comes with two option- fuel and filling ratio of the container al designs: either using our Double ship. Acting Ship (DASTM) technology with a hybrid propulsion solution of “In the current market situation, one shaftline with propeller in the transportation with the indepen- centre and two azimuthing propul- dent Arctic container ship is slightly sion units on the sides, or a design more costly than with a Suez Canal with two conventional shaftlines open water vessel,” Portunato says. and rudders,” Portunato explains. “Yet, using LNG as fuel would be

14 more profitable, and is additionally new design,” Portunato highlights. available in the area. The new Arctic “Summer traffic speed and timeta- Technical details: containership design with hybrid ble reliability is not a problem.” • Container capacity 8000 TEU propulsion can also manage on its • Length over all 300 m own without icebreaker assistance, The environmental impact of grow- • Breadth 46 m which further lowers the cost. The ing traffic on the NSR has raised • Draught 13 m smaller size, 8000 TEU, is addition- concerns, as the Arctic area is frag- Installed propulsion power ally more flexible in terms of cargo ile. However, looking at the overall compared to open water container picture; the much shorter voyage • A version 56 MW (1x22 MW ships.” requires less fuel and creates fewer shaftline, 2x17 MW thrusters) • B version 44 MW (2 x 22 MW emissions, especially as cleaner fuel shaftlines) options can be utilised. Icebreaking capability, level ice performances ahead (3 knots) Freezing challenges • A version 2.3 m Although the Arctic containership • B version 1.9 m concept design is ready, there are still certain questions which have to Ice class RMRS Arc7 evaluated.

“We need to investigate if there are any types of cargo which cannot be Meet transported in cold winter condi- Reloading adds time tions. Heated containers or cover- Luigi Portunato The currently-used Suez Canal op- age inside or outside the containers tion has the economic advantage of could be solutions,” Portunato allowing big vessels carrying up to ponders. 20,000 TEU of cargo, which would be too large for the NSR. There “However, refrigerated containers are also many ports along the way, are commonly used, so inventing allowing cargo to be added when other types of special containers the ship is not full. should not pose a problem.”

“The third option we investigat- ed is also economically feasible, Previous reference concepts but comes with the drawback of Aker Arctic has, over the years, reloading which is time-consuming. designed a wide range of different Additionally, the entire route is in icebreakers and cargo vessels. The Russian waters along with the en- closest existing concept would be Luigi originally comes from Genova visaged transshipment hubs, hence the first double-acting cargo vessels in Italy, where his family still lives. it would most likely have to be a designed for Norilsk Nickel in 2006, He finished his Bachelor of Science Russian internal ship unless cabo- although they are half the length of degree in his hometown and then tage is allowed.” the new Arctic containership and pursued his Master of Science used for general cargo. The con- at TU Delft in the Netherlands, tainer cargo capacity is 648 TEU becoming increasingly interested Schedules are essential as opposed to the new 8000-TEU in Arctic shipping and offshore Shipping with containers is a differ- design. operations. He took Arctic courses ent market from other shipments. at the University Centre in Svalbard The advantage with containers is The module carriers built for trans- and wrote his Master’s thesis on that they are of standard size and porting construction modules to the concept design of a drifting model, making them easy to use Sabetta harbour were the first Arc7 research vessel. He applied for an in worldwide shipping. For optimal carriers for the NSR, but they were open position at Aker Arctic and business profitability, a large flow of not intended for regular traffic. moved to Finland 18 months ago, goods, fully-loaded ships and a fast a decision he has not regretted. turnaround is best. The traffic also “The most similar vessel in terms of has to be steady as the schedule is size is the Arc7 LNG carrier design Luigi likes the cold and snow and fixed for all players. used for the Christophe de Margerie enjoys the nature in Finland. The and its sister ships. The Arctic past year was not the best time to “Therefore, the much shorter north- container ship will also incorporate explore the country, but he has, ern distance becomes interesting if design ideas and solutions from the nevertheless, managed to indulge a decent speed can be achieved in soon to be built, advanced Arctic in his favourite pastimes of hiking, winter and schedules can be relied LNG 2 concept,” Portunato adds. mountain biking and being out- on, which is now possible with our doors.

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