Design requirements and operational profile of an Arctic Offshore Support Vessel

178 Pages·2013·16.31 MB·English

Servicing the Arctic
Report 1: Design requirements and operational profile of
an Arctic Offshore Support Vessel
Arctic Minor Team
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Servicing the Arctic
Report 1: Design requirements and operational profile of an Arctic
O�shore Support Vessel
Literature Survey
R.W. Bos (4114620)
T.J. Huisman (4080777)
M.P.W. Obers (4113187)
T. Schaap (4089561)
M. van der Zalm (4095316)
Version: January 22, 2013
Faculty of Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering (3mE) Delft University of
·
Technology
Cover picture from: Free HD wallpapers (http://www.listofimages.com/kapitan-khlebnikov-
icebreaker-ship-arctic-ice-winter-snow-other.html)
Copyright c
•
All rights reserved.
Abstract
Background The Dutch maritime industry has only limited knowledge about Arctic engi-
neering, in spite of a growing market and interest by the oil and gas industry. This literature
survey is the first in a series of three reports to develop a concept design of an Arctic O�-
shore Support Vessel (AOSV). The purpose is to give a perspective on Arctic shipping with
a specific focus on o�shore platform support and to provide a design framework for AOSVs.
The information in this report is based on technical papers from the Internet, contact with
di�erent companies and Arctic courses from the Aalto University in Espoo, Finland.
Results In general oil companies have a rising interest in the natural resource in the Arctic
region. NexttotheirspendinginResearchandDevelopment(R&D),alsoshipyards, suppliers
and operators are eager to increase development for the harsh environments. This study
shows, that every region in the Arctic has di�erent weather and infrastructure conditions
as well as di�erent national laws and regulations. Next to that, operations in the harsh
environment have high impact on the performance of the ship and its crew.
This report gives an overview on technology available for operating in the Arctic, such as
doubleactinghull, azimuththrustingandothericebreakingtechnologies. Increasingresearch
in Arctic engineering results in new, more reliable technologies and opens the possibility to
designmoreadvancedArcticvessels. AbigchallengeinArcticengineeringistohaveaoptimal
compromise between open water and ice behavior.
Due to higher costs for among others R&D, material and equipment an AOSV will be more
expensive. Operators, on the other hand, are also willing to pay more for them, because of
the high amount of natural resources in the Arctic region.
The expected focus of the industry is on Ba�n Bay, Barents Sea and Beaufort Sea. This
study discusses the estimated oil reserves, existing infrastructure and environmental impact.
Also the operations an AOSV is likely to perform are given.
Conclusions This report gives a wide overview on Arctic shipping. For most of its subjects
more in depth research is needed to get a better understanding of the e�ects and specific
demands of the Arctic. Nevertheless it is possible to develop AOSV that can operate in
those three areas mentioned. But in the end a perfect AOSV cannot be made, it can only be
optimized for some of the predefined requirements as stated in the operational profile.
ii Abstract
Contents
Abstract i
List of Figures viii
List of Tables x
Preface xi
Acknowledgements xiii
Glossary xvii
Introduction 1
Target . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Scope of Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
I Overview of Arctic o�shore issues 5
1 Market Overview 7
1-1 Main players . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1-2 Current projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1-3 Economic feasibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
iv Contents
2 Overview of Arctic Shipping 11
2-1 Icebreaker technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2-1-1 Hull shape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2-1-2 Propulsion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2-1-3 Other technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2-2 Human factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2-3 Arctic risks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
3 Supplying the Arctic 15
3-1 Requirements of an Arctic O�shore Support Vessel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
3-2 Challenges and solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
II Important factors for Arctic O�shore Support 19
4 Ice Regimes 21
4-1 Age of the ice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
4-2 Movement and concentration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
4-3 Level ice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
4-4 Ice floes and rafted ice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
4-5 Rubble pile and field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
4-6 Ice ridges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
4-7 Ice islands and Icebergs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
5 Geographical Areas 25
5-1 Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
5-2 Weather . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
5-2-1 Ba�n bay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
5-2-2 Canadian Arctic Archipelago . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
5-2-3 Greenland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
5-2-4 Beaufort Sea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
5-2-5 Chuckchi Sea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
5-2-6 Okhotsk Sea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
5-2-7 North Caspian Sea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
5-2-8 Baltic Sea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
5-2-9 Barents Sea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
5-2-10 Kara Sea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
5-2-11 Laptev Sea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
5-2-12 East Siberian sea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
5-3 Ports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Contents v
6 Arctic Risks 43
6-1 Consequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
6-1-1 Operational consequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
6-1-2 Direct environmental consequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
6-1-3 Indirect consequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
6-2 Environment considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
6-2-1 Fuel comparison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
6-3 Probability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
7 Crew Conditions 51
7-1 General issues for seafarers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
7-1-1 Social isolation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
7-1-2 Fatigue of seafarers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
7-1-3 Family life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
7-1-4 Impact of technology on seafarers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
7-2 E�ects of harsh environments on the crew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
7-2-1 Social isolation and fatigue of seafarers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
7-2-2 Hazards and performance-influencing factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
7-2-3 Developments in training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
8 Laws and Regulations 57
8-1 International rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
8-2 National Legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
8-3 Classification societies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
8-4 Developments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
9 Ship Types and Solutions 63
9-1 History of ice breaking vessels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
9-2 Ship components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
9-2-1 Hull . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
9-2-2 Propulsion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
9-2-3 Machinery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
9-2-4 Additional measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
9-3 Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
9-3-1 Production e�ects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
9-3-2 Practical e�ects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
vi Contents
10 Market Research 77
10-1 Oil companies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
10-2 Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
10-3 OSV operators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
10-4 Shipbuilders and -designers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
10-5 Sub contractors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
10-6 Class Societies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
10-7 Transporters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
10-8 Governments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
10-9 Non governmental organizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
11 Economic feasibility 95
11-1 Driving factors industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
11-1-1 Natural resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
11-1-2 Changing environmental conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
11-1-3 Development and investments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
11-1-4 Infrastructure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
11-2 Development of Arctic O�shore Support Vessels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
11-2-1 Operational need . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
11-2-2 Cost factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
12 Operations in the Arctic 103
12-1 Operation areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
12-2 Scenarios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
12-3 Exploration activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
12-3-1 Oil and Gas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
12-3-2 Mineral mining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
12-4 Operations and Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
12-4-1 Winterization and Ice Class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
12-4-2 Ice Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
12-4-3 Anchor Handling, Towing and Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
12-4-4 Emergency Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
12-4-5 Dynamic Positioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
12-4-6 Underwater Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
12-4-7 Seismic operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
13 Conclusion 121
A Charts 123
B Locations oil companies 141
C Equivalent ice classes 145
D Material Table 149
E Marpol Garbage Rules 151