Russia’s shipping and shipbuilding sectors have a strong focus
on the Arctic sector. The government supports the industry with projects
and the promotion of the Northern Sea Route (NSR)
There has been a constant stream of new developments and initiatives. The most significant announcement came in June, when Prime[ds_preview] Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed off plans to raise traffic through the NSR by 20 times to 80mill. t of freight annually by 2030. A crucial component to the successful development of the NSR as a shipping route rivalling Suez, is the provision of a competent Coast Guard. The area is a hazardous one and the safety of vessels traversing it needs to be guaranteed. Adequate search and rescue provision in the area is also imperative to the actualization of the cost-saving benefits it promises, without and insurance premiums make it a less cost-effective option.
Plans to build up the Arctic Coast Guard have been ongoing since 2011, when the Federal Security Service (FSB) ordered the first of a planned six »Ocean« patrol ships. The lead vessel in the »Project 22100« series, known as »Polyarnaya Zvezda« (or »North Star«), has been completed and is undergoing final preparations for regular service in Kronstadt, near St. Petersburg. Two further vessels are currently under construction and should be ready by 2019.
Development of the new Arctic Coast Guard force will not end with the completion of the Project 22100 class, according to Mikhail Barabanov, a naval expert at the Moscow-based Center for the Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (CAST): »Construction is planned for several larger Coast Guard patrol ships with a displacement of 6,000 to 7,000t.«
The country is currently reported to have at least 14 icebreakers under construction and several more in the planning stage. Aker Arctic and Vyborg Shipyard have recently confirmed a contract for two new icebreakers based on the Aker ARC 130 A design. The icebreakers will be used in the oil terminal operated by LLC Gazprom Neft Novy Port in the Gulf of Ob and will be designed to break 2m level ice with 30cm snow cover in both ahead and astern directions. Vyborg confirmed that they will be conducting the delivery ceremony for the lead vessel in the project 21900M series, »Vladivostok«, within the framework of the NEVA 2015 exhibition held in St. Petersburg in September. The exhibition provides a platform to promote Russia’s commercial shipbuilding, ship equipment and related maritime industries. »Vladivstok« is one of three diesel-electric icebreakers built for FSUE Rosmorport, with the ability to break through 1.5m thick ice and intended for operation in the Baltic.
Another important initiative is the so-called Project 22220 series of nuclear-powered icebreakers which are being built to Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RS) class. The keel laying of the first ship in the series took place at the Baltic Shipyard in May this year. Having the highest Arctic Icebreaker 9 class and 60 MW of power will enable these icebreakers to move through level ice up to 2.8m in thickness.
As a »significant milestone« for the Russian Arctic shipping business some see the recent entry into service, following successful sea trials in the harsh Kara Sea, of the »Baltika«, which was built by Arctech Helsinki Shipyard in co-operation with Russia’s Shipyard Yantar. »Baltika« is owned by the Federal Agency for Maritime and River Transport of Russia (Rosmorrechflot) and operated by the Russian Marine Emergency Rescue Service (FGI Gosmorspassluzhba). It is the first vessel designed to break ice obliquely; the oblique mode allows the vessel to create a 50m wide channel in 0.6m thick ice, which is over two times wider than her own breadth.
NEVA, the premier commercial maritime business-to-business event in Russia, has a strong focus on Arctic developments for its 2015 programme, including an Artic Session. It will run in conjunction with the annual meeting of the International Expert Council for Cooperation in the Arctic and will be concentrated around the theme of »Economic, Technological and Maritime Cooperation in the Arctic«.
RD
