Frontier energy winter 2018

OIL, GAS & SHIPPING IN THE ARCTIC AND ICE-AFFECTED REGIONS www.frontierenergy.info WINTER 2018

Norway Challenges & possibilities RRS Sir David Attenborough

ARCTIC INSURANCE Understanding risk

World-class Polar science

Red Box Heavy lift success

Pole Position Maritime opportunity + SAFETY • SHIPPING • TECHNOLOGY

• BOOK REVIEWS

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CONTENTS

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06

05

14 Winter 2018 OIL, GAS & SHIPPING IN THE ARCTIC AND ICE-AFFECTED REGIONS www.frontierenergy.info WINTER 2018

IN THIS ISSUE

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Norway Challenges & possibilities

ARCTIC INSURANCE

RRS Sir David Attenborough

Features

Understanding risk

World-class Polar science

FE 06

Regulars

NORWAY Despite legal and environmental challenges facing Norway, one of the most active nations exploring above the Arctic Circle, its governments and energy industry believe a healthy future lies to the north in the Barents Sea

Red Box Heavy lift success

Pole Position Maritime opportunity + SAFETY • SHIPPING • TECHNOLOGY

• BOOK REVIEWS

T EN GS EV TIN LIS

FE 12

ICE BREAKERS A new shallow-draught anchor handling tug supply (AHTS) vessel designed by Offshore Ship Designers (OSD) has been delivered to Russian inland waterways operator and offshore logistics service provider Ark Shipping. And cruise lines are developing ice class vessels

FE 14

ARCTIC SHIPPING At a cost of over £200 million and with a 2019 launch date,

FE On the cover Ice-class heavy lift vessel Audax carriers a module to Yamal LNG in northern Russia. © Red Box Energy

the RRS Sir David Attenborough research vessel currently under construction in the UK is set to change the way we understand and use polar science

Services

16 POLE POSITION Eimskip and Royal Arctic Line are leading the way to expand trade channels between Iceland, Greenland, North America, Scandinavia and the rest of Europe. The potential is huge, but conditions are challenging

20 HEAVY LIFTING IN ICE The pioneering heavy lift voyages by the Audax and Pugnax were key to developing the huge Yamal LNG development in northern Russia. Carving through ice fields in the Northern Sea Route, the vessels carried modules weighing up to 10,000 tonnes

25 SAFETY COLLABORATION As Arctic waters become increasing accessible to a greater variety and number of vessels, technology, policies and operational practices are being scrutinised and enhanced. Canada launches a polar safety initiative aimed at protecting vulnerable coastlines

27 UNDERSTANDING SEA ICE A new £10 million research programme created to investigate how the Arctic Ocean is changing is starting work in the Barents Sea with a group of British institutes seeking to understand knock-on effects of global warming and sea ice loss in the Arctic region

04 NEWS Greenland sticks to its lease sale plan for 2018; Russian Arctic officials are seeking more icebreakers; Sovcomflot is developing a new class of Polar class LNG tankers; Arctic oil production is under scrutiny as research starts into Barents Sea environments; Indigenous Arctic communities have called on the UK Government to meet and exceed its commitments under the Paris Climate Agreement; Weather and radar station to be developed and built above Arctic Circle 26 BOOK REVIEWS The number of books published about life, policies, engineering and science is increasing steadily. Here we profile two of the latest editions including a travelogue describing travelling on an icebreaker, and understanding Britain’s role in the region and its complex political and policy future 26 EVENTS Frontier Energy’s comprehensive listing helps you plan your calendar and highlight the key upstream, shipping, scientific and research conferences, exhibitions

www.frontierenergy.info WINTER 2018 1

RED BOX ENERGY SERVICES The World Leader in Arctic Transport RED BOX ENERGY SERVICES pioneered the opening of the Northern Sea Route for year-round transportation of energy infrastructure modules.

For the Yamal LNG Project, RED BOX safely executed 25 voyages above the Arctic Circle from September 2015 until November 2017, transporting 99 modules with a total weight of 290,000 tonnes over 60 percent of the total modules fabricated in ten different construction yards across Asia.

As a result of this new milestone in Arctic navigation, the Yamal LNG Project remained on schedule, successfully achieving its target of ‘first gas’ in December 2017.

AUDAX and PUGNAX are the largest polar ice breaking ships in the world. They performed safely and reliably during the Arctic Winter in minus 50°C temperatures; sailing through two metres of ice.

The RED BOX Team on board trained for many months on Russian nuclear icebreakers to prepare themselves for the challenges of operating in some of the most extreme marine conditions in the world.

The AUDAX and PUGNAX and the highly skilled professionals that sail and support them allow Team RED BOX to uniquely serve our clients that are seeking safe and reliable marine heavy transportation services above the Arctic Circle.

Anticipate • Communicate • Cooperate • Lead www.redboxgroup.com info@redboxgroup.com

EDITOR’S LETTER

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FRAM* Norway’s Arctic path

“Norway and the Barents Sea are full of challenges and opportunities, and further development in the region is much anticipated.”

Norway has long been a global leader in upstream oil and gas activities and now its proximity to the Arctic Circle and Barents Sea is presenting it with new opportunities in sectors ranging from traditional E&P activity to extreme environment health & safety and ice-class shipping.

Currently, however, the government is a facing legal battle from environmental campaigners and NGOs calling for a halt to Arctic oil and gas exploration. One of the biggest and most pressing cases is the one that started at the end of 2016 after the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy gave out new licences for oil drilling in the Arctic.

At that time, Greenpeace, and Nature and Youth filed a lawsuit to bring implementation of these licences to a halt, using the arguments that the licensing decision affected the environment in ways that “create a real risk of extreme negative impacts for the environment”. The case was rejected by the courts, although the decision is now being appealed.

Looking to build regional alliances during the early 2018 Kirkenes Conference between Norway and Russia, delegates sought to find synergies to develop production in the region, particular along maritime borders. Meeting at the annual event, representatives from both countries’ oil majors Rosneft and Statoil discussed a range of issues including climate changes, trade and travel sanctions, harsh northern winter weather and economic investment risks. These barriers to entry are well known, but they are being defined and while seemingly presenting a daunting set of challenges, the Barents Sea is now seen to have a real opportunity with development prospects dominating discussion in Kirkenes.

Norway and the Barents Sea are full of challenges and opportunities, and further development in the region is much anticipated. (Special report, page 6)

www.frontierenergy.info

Polar science

Editor Bruce McMichael editor@frontierenergy.info Canadian Correspondent Andrew Safer Publisher Stephen Habermel publisher@frontierenergy.info Design & Layout Nick Blaxill © 2018 All material strictly copyright, all rights to editorial content are reserved. Reproduction without permission from the publisher is prohibited. The views expressed in Frontier Energy do not always represent those of the publishers. Every care is taken in compiling the contents, but the publishers assume no responsibility for any damage, loss. The publisher, Renaissance Media, assumes no responsibility, or liability for unsolicited material, nor responsibility for the content of any advertisement, particularly infringements of copyrights, trademarks, intellectual property rights and patents, nor liability for misrepresentations, false or misleading statements and illustrations. These are the sole responsibility of the advertiser.

Printed in the UK. ISSN 2047-3702 Published by Renaissance Media Ltd, c/o Maynard Heady LLP, Matrix House, 12-16 Lionel Road, Canvey Island, Essex SS8 9DE. Registered in England & Wales.

Company number 5850675.

*

With a launch date for the polar vessel RRS Sir David Attenborough approaching fast, our understanding of polar environments, science and the impact of human activity on the Arctic and Antarctic regions is about to be significantly enhanced. Investment in the British-owned research vessel RRS Sir David Attenborough offers game-changing benefits, as we report in this issue of Frontier Energy. It’s research that will be of direct interest to executives and planners in shipping and oil companies, and will help protect the precious landscape and its natural world.

As the vessel approaches its 2019 commissioning, the indigenous, scientific, environmental and business communities active in the Polar regions are preparing to receive valuable information that will inform operational decisions for decades.

At around 128 m long, 24 m wide and capable of spending 60 days at sea without resupply, the new polar ship will be a sight to behold. While scientists work 24/7 in on-board labs, the RRS Sir David Attenborough will be able to range over 35,000 km – more than enough to circle the entire Antarctic continent twice.

In Birkenhead, north-west England, work on the £200 million ship is progressing. In October 2016, Sir David Attenborough himself took part in the vessel’s keel-laying ceremony. In such events, the first piece of the keel is laid on top of a newly minted coin. It’s the first stage of a ship build and said to bring luck to ship, captain and crew. In this instance, a coin from the British Antarctic Territory was used to bring good fortune to the vessel. You might think this is a slightly quaint superstition to be honoured for a serious ship headed out to the poles on arduous journeys in pursuit of knowledge, but for NERC and BAS scientists, this superstition adds another layer of ‘safety’, albeit an ephemeral one. Unlike the science that will flow from work done on this very important vessel. (Feature, page 14).

Fram is not only the Norwegian word for ‘Forward’, it is also the name of the one of the first ice-strengthened and most famous polar exploration vessels of the late 1800s and early twentieth century. It was captained by Norwegian explorer, Fridtjof Nansen, a Norwegian explorer, scientist, diplomat, humanitarian and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Sharing his polar travel experiences with fellow adventurers and scientists, his technology innovations in equipment and clothing influenced a generation of subsequent Arctic and Antarctic expeditions. The word encapsulates what we aim to bring you with the magazine – a forward looking guide to the future of oil, gas and shipping activities in the Arctic and other ice-affected regions while keeping environmental protection and safety at the heart of operations.

Get connected!

Follow us at www.twitter.com/frontierenergy for the latest news and comment

www.frontierenergy.info WINTER 2018 3

NEWS

Greenland sticks to its lease sale plan Greenland is expected to press ahead with its planned sale of oil leases in 2018, despite a lack of bids at an open auction that concluded in December, 2017.

The proposed sale, covering the Davis Strait, between Greenland and Baffin Island, will wrap up the final auction of five described in the 20142018 national oil and minerals strategy.

The Department of Mineral Resources indicated that it did not expect interest in exploring for oil in Greenland to improve measurably by the time the 2018 sale begins, but failing to hold the sale, it worries, will cast doubt on future licensing rounds and “pose an investment risk”.

The department blamed the situation on “the global recession within the exploration industry” and an oil price that is half what it was when the strategy was published in 2014. /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Russia ‘needs more icebreakers’

IN NUMBERS

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10,000 Italian oil company ENI is working from an artificial island in the Beaufort Sea, offshore Alaska about 5 kilometres off Oliktok Point in the Arctic Ocean. Its well is expected to run more than 10,000 metres.

11

oil firms applied for stakes in exploration blocks off Norway in its 24th oil and gas licensing round, down from 26 companies that sought drilling permits in the previous round in 2015.

Oil companies such as Shell are active in Arctic waters offshore

Polar class LNG tankers for Shell Russian shipping group SCF Group (Sovcomflot) has signed time-charter agreements with Shell for two dual-fuelled Aframax tankers.

Each tanker will have an ice class 1A hull, enabling year-round export operations from the Baltic Sea region. The technical specifications for these new vessels have been developed by SCF Group’s own engineering centre, with the close involvement of Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world’s leader in Aframax construction, and Russian shipbuilders (Zvezda shipbuilding complex, Primorsk region).

The vessels are part of a series of six SCF Group tankers currently under construction and due for delivery between Q3 2018 and Q1 2019. The two tankers will be on time charter to Shell for up to 10 years, with a minimum commitment of five years. This “Green Funnel” series of ice-class 114,000 deadweight LNG-powered Aframax tankers will operate within Shell’s extensive global freight trading network.

The vessels will also use Shell’s specialised LNG bunker vessels, such as the Cardissa, for fuelling in North West Europe. Shell will provide further supply points across North West Europe and the Baltic as it expands its LNG fuelling infrastructure.

4 WINTER 2018 www.frontierenergy.info

Photo: courtesy Shell

Russia needs new powerful icebreakers to enter the Asia-Pacific liquefied natural gas (LNG) market, something that only exists on paper at the moment, Director General of the Russian Rosatomflot company Vyacheslav Ruksha said.

The development of Russia’s icebreaker fleet is driven by LNG shipping. LNG will be transported from the newly launched Yamal LNG plant. It is also time to consider what we need to do for the Arctic LNG 2 project on the Gydan Peninsula, which is to go online by 2025.

According to Vyacheslav Ruksha, Rosatom is looking to provide financing that will make Russian LNG competitive with US LNG. “If we don’t enter the LNG market in the Asia-Pacific region in the next five to seven years, we are unlikely to ever enter it,” said Ruksha.

Researchers study Arctic oil production An international group of researchers is to evaluate the coastal ecosystems of the Barents Sea. The project starts in 2018, will last three years and will be coordinated by St. Petersburg State University (SPbU).

“The goal of the project is not only to compare the species composition of Arctic ecosystems and the geochemical background in a given area, but also to determine the functional link between them.

“We will identify pollution components and their influence on Arctic ecosystems. In the past, we

could use archive data for this purpose. Today, however, we need to create new databases and synchronize the work of various experts,” said project director Prof.

Andrei Granovich.

SPbU biologists, geochemists from the Gramberg Research Institute of Geology and Mineral Resources of the World Ocean (VNIIOkeangeologia) plus scientists from the private Norwegian research and consultancy company Akvaplan-niva AS joined forces in 2014 to develop common approaches to monitoring the Arctic environment.

NEWS

30,000

2,500

Due for delivery in 2021, the Ponant Icebreaker will be 30,000 gross tons, be about 150 meters long and have 175 cabins to accommodate 270 passengers in addition to a crew of 180. The ship will also carry two helicopters and a dozen inflatable boats for exploring and landings at sites with no harbour facilities.

The number of Norwegians who donated to a Greenpeace crowdsourcing drive to raise funds for a legal challenge to the Norwegian government to withdraw the new oil licences in the Arctic. The campaign raised close to half of the legal costs for the plaintiffs.

47.6bn

20,000

20

Russia’s Novatek will spend as much as ($47.6bn) Rbs2.8trn by 2030 on liquid natural gas projects in the Arctic as it aims to become a major supplier in country’s extreme north.

The Porcupine River caribou herd which lives north of the Arctic Circle in Alaska has been a foundation of the Gwich’in culture for 20,000 years.

BP is a 20% shareholder in Russia’s Rosneft. The pair has agreed a new joint venture to develop gas deposits in the Yamal-Nenets autonomous region in north-western Siberia

Arctic community leaders in London Indigenous Arctic communities have called on the UK Government to meet and exceed its commitments under the Paris Climate Agreement. Speaking in London, the leaders from the Guich’in nation, the Inuit and the Saami people said at a meeting attended by

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a range of British MPs, political researchers and various interested parties about the impact climate change is having on their communities in the Arctic in January 2018. Member of Parliament MP James Gray, who takes a close interest in Arctic issues, hosted the meeting.

Artist’s impression of an earlier EISCAT radar installation

Radar station for Arctic The most advanced space weather radar in the world is to be built in the Arctic by an international partnership including the UK, thanks to new investment, including in the region of £4 million to £6 million from NERC, a UK government science organisation.

The EISCAT_3D radar will provide UK scientists with a cutting-edge tool to probe the upper atmosphere and near-Earth space, helping them to understand the effects of space weather storms on technology, society and the environment.

Costing a total of £63 million, the facility will be distributed across three sites in northern Scandinavia – in Skibotn, Norway, near Kiruna in Sweden, and near Kaaresuvanto in Finland. The project will start in September 2017 with site preparations beginning in summer 2018. The radar is expected to be operational in 2021.

NERC’s Chief Executive Professor Duncan Wingham said: “EISCAT_3D will give us a 3D picture of interactions between space weather and our upper atmosphere with a detail we’ve not seen before, giving us answers to questions researchers have about the impacts of space weather on the upper atmosphere. We need this information to reduce the risks posed by space weather on our communications systems, satellites and power grids.”

www.frontierenergy.info WINTER 2018 5

NORWAY

Norway faces CHALLENGES and OPPORTUNITIES Norway’s government is fighting environmental challenges through the courts, some lack of interest from explorers in the Barents Sea, and calls to ease reliance on hydrocarbons for its revenue and to divert investment into renewable energy. But new technology and a determination to advance into the Barents Sea shows that the hydrocarbon sector is still full of opportunity.

6 WINTER 2018 www.frontierenergy.info

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ormed in January 2018, Norway’s new government is working to create a new approach to managing the country’s slow push for more oil in the high north.

“We are able to, as we have been for decades, strike a balance between sustainable growth and protecting the Arctic,” foreign minister Ine Soereide said, addressing an audience in Tromso, the main city in

NORWAY

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Petroleum Directorate said.

Companies seeking to gain new acreage for oil and gas exploration off Norway include Statoil, Aker BP, Lundin Petroleum, Shell, OMV and Centrica.

DEA, Wintershall, Idemitsu, KUFPEC and RN Nordic Oil were also on the list of applicants.

While authorities believe the Barents Sea contains most of Norway’s undiscovered oil and gas resources, environmental groups are arguing that exploration in Norway’s northernmost region should be banned.

The latest round, which has a record number of blocks on offer in the Arctic Barents Sea, is expected to be concluded when the energy ministry makes final awards before the summer of 2018

A semi-submersible in Tromso ready for work further north

Norway’s Arctic region during a conference earlier this year.

Also speaking at the event, Terje Soeviknes, Norway’s minister of petroleum and energy, said that talk of “the Norwegian paradox” was always ongoing but warned that the strategic importance of Norway’s energy exports, was of long-term strategic advantage.

He said: “Our oil and gas is extremely important as a reliable source of energy for Europe. This has been under-communicated in public debate.”

Soeviknes concern’s were echoed by Urmas Paet, a member of the committee for foreign affairs of the European Parliament. He said: “This is a security dimension for all of Europe. Norwegian gas covers more than 20% of European consumption”.

The Norwegian government is facing legal and environment challenges against its hopes

and aspirations for expanding production above the Arctic Circle. Taking their objections to the courts, environmental groups and scientists are asserting that oil and gas reserves should remain in situ and Norway should “live up to its climate commitments and the Paris Accords of 2015”, in particular.

Informing this ongoing debate is its recent round of offering exploration blocks. In late 2017, around 11 oil firms applied for stakes in exploration blocks off Norway in its 24th oil and gas licensing round, down from 26 companies that sought drilling permits in the previous round in 2015.

The latest round, which has a record number of blocks on offer in the Arctic Barents Sea, is expected to be concluded when the energy ministry makes final awards before the summer of 2018, the Norwegian

Norway is aware that its oil and gas reserves, which have offered decades of prosperity to the Nordic nation of around 5.2million people, are finite and, while keeping the energy sector as a core industry, is seeking alternatives. It is looking for a new bounty in the seas to the north, where climate change is making resources ever easier to reach. Thus, Norway has been building up an aqua-culture sector in the past three decades, making farmed fish the country’s largest export after oil and gas.

At the same time Norges Bank, Norway’s central bank, manages the country’s oil fund, the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund with assets of more than $1 trillion, recently floated the idea that the government should put plans into disinvesting from oil and gas.

“The return on oil and gas stocks has been significantly lower than in the broad equity market in periods of falling oil prices,” the bank explained in a statement.

“Therefore, it is the bank’s assessment that the government’s wealth can be made less vulnerable to a permanent drop in oil prices if the GPFG [the sovereign fund] is not invested in oil and gas stocks,” it added.

In Tromso, Terje Soeviknes asked his audience to accept recent projections from the International Energy Agency and others that reported oil and gas will remain part of the world’s energy supply “for several decades”.

Soeviknes suggested that Norway and similar customers must look at how to best meet this demand, including with oil and gas, while all the same time pursuing a less carbon-dependent economy. FE www.frontierenergy.info WINTER 2018 7

NORWAY

BaSEC seeks solutions for BARENTS SEA /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

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undin Petroleum’s Norwegian subsidiary is one of several exploration companies involved in a collaborative venture to find solutions to responsible exploration across the southern Barents Sea. The ongoing project, called BaSEC (Barents Sea Exploration Collaboration), connects leading oil companies to work together to find solutions that lead to robust exploration activity in the Barents Sea. Through the sharing of data, cost-effective solutions, increased collaboration and coordination, the companies aim to contribute to high levels of safety and emergency response.

BaSEC was originally established by Lundin Norway, Statoil, Eni Norge, OMV and GDF Suez and has expanded to a total of 16 participating companies.

Around 130 wells have been drilled in recent drilling campaigns across the Barents Sea with a range of results. Eighteenth months ago, Statoil discovered oil and gas with the Cape Vulture well, followed by two more finds in July. The Kayak well on the Johan Castberg licence discovered between 25 Mboe and 50 Mboe of recoverable reserves. Statoil also discovered gas between the Snøhvit and Goliat fields with the Blåmann well, and Lundin Norway saw success on the Filicudi prospect.

“We are taking operational responsibility seriously and have connected leading companies with operations in the Barents Sea to work together to find good and robust solutions for the tasks we see ahead, especially

considering the new areas that have been opened in the Barents Sea southeast,” Irene Rummelhoff, Statoil’s senior vice president for exploration in Norway, said at the launch.

The project, which was initiated by Statoil and Eni Norge, will be led by Statoil in the first phase, but all the companies will participate in the steering group and contribute to the working groups.

Cost-effective solutions “Our goal is to increase coordination and develop cost-effective solutions for exploration in the Barents Sea in both the short and medium term. We will collaborate with authorities, industry organisations and other relevant institutions to deliver on this.

We aim to be effective and address the concrete actions that need to be taken and share relevant solutions and data with both the authorities and the rest of the industry. It is in our common interest to have robust exploration activity in the Barents Sea,” Rummelhoff added. Statoil said the collaborator would aim to find common solutions for operations in the Barents Sea,

New well tech for Barents Sea Norway’s Add Energy and Houston, Texasbased Trendsetter Engineering have been contracted to provide well control support and access to their relief well injection spool (RWIS) to a well due to be drilled this spring in the Norwegian Barents Sea. If called on, the RWIS system should facilitate high rate kill requirements through a single relief well.

This would allow the operator to increase the flexibility and redundancy of well kill operations by relocating pumping and storage to dedicated pumping vessels.

The RWIS has been designed to increase the pumping capacity of a single relief well by facilitating pumping of kill mud at rates above 200 bbl/min through a single relief well, using multiple vessels.

Normally, multiple relief wells require the

8 WINTER 2018 www.frontierenergy.info

attendance of multiple mobile offshore drilling units.

The RWIS is installed on the relief well wellhead beneath the BOP to provide additional flow connections into the wellbore.

By means of high-pressure flex lines, the inlets allow pumping units from separate floating vessels (in addition to the relief well rig) to ensure a high-rate dynamic kill.

According to Add Energy/Trendsetter, access to the RWIS will provide the (unnamed) Barents Sea operator with extra security, ensuring that a blowout – which would typically require more than one intercept – can be killed with a single relief well.

This, they claim, reduces the risk for the entire well control operation.

including the delivery of a high level of safety and emergency response. This will happen through sharing of data, cost-effective solutions, more collaboration and increased coordination, the firm said.

The companies are working to develop solutions that can facilitate a joint operator approach to HSE in the Norwegian Barents Sea; an appropriate level of safety and emergency preparedness (including oil spill response); data sharing; cost effective solutions; and standardisation The BaSEC programme aims to meet the expectations as stated by governing authorities through ensuring continued high level of HSE and operational preparedness for exploration activity in the Norwegian Barents Sea, focusing on areas opened for oil and gas activity in the concession rounds. Several groups are currently working on a range of topics including MetOcean and ice environment; oil spill response; logistics and emergency preparedness, mobile drilling units; and health and working environments.

The project is expected to report its research in 2019. FE

In addition, the RWIS kits could allow the operator to increase the size of the completions to increase the production rate, and this is a development that could help take marginal developments forward, they add.

Prior to securing this contract, Add Energy undertook a blowout and kill simulation study to verify that a worst-case blowout during drilling of the upcoming well could be controlled by a single relief well.

It concluded that the RWIS would significantly increase the kill mud pumping capacity and the likelihood of a successful kill operation in the event of a blowout.

Currently the RWIS is stored at Trendsetter’s Global Readiness Center in Houston. It can be mobilised within 24 hours in the event of an uncontrolled hydrocarbon release.

NORWAY

Artists impression of the Johan Castberg field

Statoil restructures plans for

JOHAN CASTBERG ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Statoil is developing the giant Johan Castberg field in the Barents Sea, one of the largest oil discoveries yet recorded in Norway’s northern seas. And Aker Solutions is a major contributor.

T

he Johan Castberg (formerly Skrugard) field is situated 100 kilometres north of the Snøhvit field in the Barents Sea, and is a major project for the Norwegian oil giant Statoil.

It holds huge volumes of hydrocarbons and field development plans consist of three oil discoveries Skrugard, Havis and Drivis, which are located in PL 532.

Margareth Øvrum, Statoil’s executive vice president for Technology, Projects and Drilling, says the project has brought challenges. “It was not commercially viable due to high capital expenditures of more than NOK100 billion and a breakeven oil price of more than USD80 per barrel. We have been working hard together with our suppliers and partners, changing the concept and finding new solutions in order to realise the development… we are delivering a PDO for a 10 WINTER 2018 www.frontierenergy.info

field with halved capital expenditures and which will be profitable at oil prices of less than USD35 per barrel,” Øvrum says.

Cost reduction To achieve profitability in the project after the fall in the oil price in 2014-15, Statoil and the partners had to radically alter the design concept. Now, field development is planned to be completed with an FPSO+ production vessel with supporting subsea solutions.

Castberg is a large subsea field, and is key to the possible further development and infrastructure in the Barents Sea.

Compared with the original solution, costs have been reduced from approximately NOK100 billion to around NOK50 billion.

At sea level, the FPSO will be visible – but it is underwater that the true size of the field is seen. Castberg is a large subsea field, and is key to the possible further development and infrastructure in the Barents Sea. “Johan Castberg will be the sixth project to come on stream in northern Norway,” says Arne Sigve Nylund, Statoil’s executive vice president for Development and Production Norway. “The field will be a backbone of the further development of the oil and gas industry in the North. Infrastructure will also be built in a new area on the Norwegian continental shelf. We know from experience that this will create new development opportunities.”

The Johan Castberg licence will also spend more time investigating the possibility of realising a standalone oil terminal on Veidnes.

An onshore terminal could also be an alternative in combination with offshore oil offloading. However, there are significant differences in costs between a concept based on bringing the oil to shore in a pipeline and a

NORWAY

concept based on offshore oil offloading.

Statoil and its partners will therefore continue to work to optimise opportunities in the area and the timing of project activities. An investment decision on a possible terminal will be made in 2019.

Subsea planning Parallel with the submission of the PDO, Statoil is signing a contract both for the Johan Castberg subsea system, and engineering and procurement management, both with Norway-based Aker Solutions AS. The contracts have a total value about NOK4 billion.

Aker Solutions is an important contractor to the project and will supply the subsea production system and design the FPSO topsides, the largest-ever of its kind offshore Norway.

Aker Solutions was involved in the development almost from inception supplying concept studies and front-end engineering design.

“Early involvement and strong collaboration with Statoil have helped halve the development costs, enabling this strategically important project to move forward,” says Aker Solutions ceo Luis Araujo.

“The field is critical in further developing northern Norway as an oil and gas region.”

Aker Solutions is also developing the subsea

JOHAN CASTBERG FACTBOX • Development concept includes a production vessel and extensive subsea development with 30 wells, 10 subsea templates and two satellite structures.

• This is the biggest subsea field under development in the world today.

• Development costs are estimated at around NOK 49 billion.

• The jobs generated nationwide during the development are estimated at slightly less than 47,000 man-years, some 1800 of which will be located in northern Norway.

• The Johan Castberg project will account for a substantial part of the investment level on the NCS in 2018-2022.

• Together with other operators of oil discoveries in the Barents Sea Statoil is investigating the possibility of finding a profitable oil terminal solution at Veidnes.

Source: Statoil

production systems consisting of 30 wells with vertical subsea trees, wellheads, control systems, 10 templates and manifolds, two satellite structures and tooling.

Work on the system has started and will involve facilities in Norway, the UK, India, Malaysia and Brazil. Initial deliveries are scheduled for the second quarter of 2019 with final delivery in the first half of 2023.

The FPSO agreement covers engineering, procurement and management assistance for the detailed design of the Johan Castberg topside. The order comes after Statoil exercised an option in a 2013 engineering contract. The work has already started and will be carried out by Aker Solutions in Norway and India. Detailed design is set to be completed in 2019.

Future developments At the same time, Statoil has begun work on a proposal to build an onshore terminal in northern Norway for handling oil from the oilfield and other yet-to-be-developed resources.

A report on the proposal is expected in 2019. “We are working together with several other licence holders and operators to see if there is a basis for building a terminal,” says Statoil’s chief executive Eldar Saetre.

“We want to make it work, but we need more resources than Castberg for it to be realistic,” he added.

An onshore terminal could help to cut oil shipping costs as it would allow larger tankers to ship the oil.

The decision to build such a terminal would depend on whether it could also receive oil from other developments, including Lundin’s Alta/Gohta and OMV’s Wisting discoveries. FE

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ICE BREAKERS

Cutting through

THE FUTURE //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

A

new shallow-draught anchorhandling tug supply (AHTS) vessel designed by Offshore Ship Designers (OSD) has been delivered to Russian inland waterways operator and offshore logistics service provider Ark Shipping.

The AHTS Antarctic, designed in cooperation with the owner, is partly based on the design of another OSD-designed ship, the Arctic, which was delivered to Ark Shipping in 2012. The DP1 vessel has a Bureau Veritas Ice Class Notation, and is fully equipped to operate in the challenging and extreme conditions of the Caspian Sea where ice formation of around 80 cm during the winter period is not exceptional. Construction of the hull from special-grade steel will enable the Antarctic to endure minimum temperatures of -25 to -30 C°. Hull construction, meanwhile, has been optimized to create a relatively lowweight hull for an ice-class 1A vessel.

Antarctic’s large breadth forms a stable platform for stand-by rescue, supply and anchor-handling operations under extreme conditions. The vessel can supply and load different cargoes such as cement, liquid mud,

Icebreaker for cruise line International cruise company Ponant has developed an innovative and environmentally friendly luxury cruise vessel in close co-operation with Aker Arctic and Stirling Design International.

The PC2 class icebreaker intends to take passengers to never-explored polar destinations, such as true geographic North Pole, the Weddell Sea, the Ross Sea and Peter I Island.

The vessel will be a polar luxury expedition ship and a hybrid electric icebreaker powered by liquid natural gas, fitted with the latest environmental protection technology. It will have the capacity to sail through 2.5 m thick ice in northern and southern polar extremes.

12 WINTER 2018 www.frontierenergy.info

Ice formation of around 80 cm in the Caspian Sea is not exceptional in the during the winter period.

fuel oil, fresh water and black water. The minimum draught in a light operating condition of approximately 2.5 m facilitates access to the shallower parts of the Caspian Sea.

Antarctic has a Standby Rescue Vessel class notation for 100 survivors. An innovative accommodation design offers sufficient room for survivors and ensures proper sanitary facilities. The vessel, which is fully equipped with all equipment needed to ensure safe and efficient anchor-handling operations, has a total propulsion power of 4,923 kW and 6,600 hp. It has six rudders with a triple steering gear and double-cylinder set-up.

Three Cummins QSK60 Engines drive three

high-thrust propellers, a configuration which ensures a high bollard pull and excellent manoeuvrability, even in icy and shallow waters.

OSD managing director Michiel Wijsmuller says: “Ark Shipping has been operating vessels in the Caspian Sea for almost 30 years, establishing a reputation for excellence and innovation. It must meet the requirements of the major oil and gas companies in the area, so it is always looking to push the boundaries of orthodox technology to provide highquality vessels which operate in an efficient and safe manner in difficult environments. We are delighted that Ark returned to OSD for its latest vessel, which adds to our continually expanding design portfolio.” FE

To ensure operation in these harsh and ice infested areas, the company contracted Aker Arctic to take part in the design of the vessel.

Prior to start of the development, the different operational areas were evaluated to set up the design basis for the operation and vessel technical requirements.

Ponant confirmed the order with the Norwegian shipyard VARD, which has previously also built icebreaking vessels based on Aker Arctic designs. “We are looking for a continued co-operation in the building phase of the project” states Reko-Antti Suojanen.

The icebreaker will give passengers the chance to reach the geographic North Pole, cross the Arctic Ocean, discover Greenland’s northeast region, as well as explore the Weddell

Sea, the Ross Sea and Peter Island, and have an onboard laboratory.

With a complement of 187 crew, the vessel will have three restaurants, a spa and wellness centre, plus 16 expedition Zodiacs and two onboard helicopters.

The icebreaker’s environmental and tech credentials are extensive, with zero emissions when in electric hybrid mode, as well as compliance with the International Maritime Organization’s 2020 regulations on sulphur emissions levels.

The cruise line is the only French cruise line active in the polar cruise sector. The company was founded in 1988 by a team led by seasoned shipping executive, and now ceo, Jean Emmanuel Sauvée.

Survivor accommodation

ICE CRUISING

Preparing for ARCTIC SAR //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

T

he cruise industry is working hard to ensure sustainable growth in both the Arctic and Antarctic, with industry groups such as Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators (AECO) and the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operations (IAATO) developing guidelines and raising standards to promote safe and responsible tourism.

With this in mind, cruise industry authorities and researchers are joining forces to enhance Arctic SAR through the new ARCSAR network. Having secured €3.5 million in EU funding, the ARCSAR project will run for five years and include a live exercise on a cruise vessel.

AECO is one of 21 international partners that will work across sectors to strengthen cooperation and innovation in security and emergency response in the Arctic and the North Atlantic.

The ARCSAR network is led by the Joint Rescue Coordination Center North-Norway, and search and rescue (SAR) will be an important focus area for the project. AECO, which represents the majority of expedition cruise operators that sail in Arctic waters, will work closely with authorities, SAR responders and researchers to determine how SAR preparedness and response can be strengthened and developed.

Safe initiative The expedition cruise industry welcomes the opportunity to contribute to safe Arctic navigation through dialogue and innovation.

“In a time of increased activity in the Arctic, the ARCSAR project is an important and timely initiative. The expedition cruise industry is already working closely with Arctic SAR entities, and this network will make it possible to take full advantage of the knowledge, experience and best practices we are identifying,” says Frigg Jørgensen, executive director of AECO.

Live exercise Jørgensen underlines that passenger vessels represent an important asset in Arctic marine preparedness.

“During search and rescue operations in remote parts of the Arctic, expedition cruise ships can be the first to arrive on site. Cruise ships carry food, water, medical supplies, doctors, numerous high-speed small vessels and other resources that are useful in SAR operations. Previous tabletop exercises organised by AECO and SAR entities have

Arctic icebreaker cruise ship Sampo at work in the frozen Baltic Sea

shown that there is a potential for making better use of these resources. ARCSAR’s planned live exercise will be a valuable opportunity to continue to learn and improve cooperation,” says Jørgensen.

Swedish cruise operator and AECO member PolarQuest is also part of the ARCSAR network and will most likely supply

the vessel that will be used during the live exercise. The time and location of the exercise is yet to be determined.

ARCSAR was recently granted €3.5 million in EU funding, and will involve partners from Finland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Faroe Islands, the U.S., Canada, Russia, Italy, Germany, UK, Ireland and New Zealand. FE

Steel cutting for explorer The steel cutting ceremony of the first polar newbuild in the Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic fleet is the start of two-year construction project and will add a vessel to the growing list of extreme expedition ships. The vessel is yard number 312 at Ulstein Verft, in northern Norway. The ship is scheduled for delivery in Q1 2020, with an option for two additional ships to be delivered in subsequent years.

The cutting of the first steel marks the production start for a newbuild vessel project. The steel cutting ceremony was supervised by Janusz Stechly from DNV-GL and yard representatives Ole Osnes Gjerde and Marek Lewczuk.

The expedition cruise ship is designed by Ulstein Design & Solutions AS with a focus on safety and comfort. A core feature is the patented X-BOW®, which provides improved comfort for passengers in rough weather. Expanded fuel and water tanks provide for extended operations in remote areas.

Lindblad Expeditions Holdings, Inc is an expedition travel company that works in partnership with National Geographic to inspire people to explore and care about the planet. The partnership’s educationally oriented voyages allow guests to interact with and learn from leading scientists, naturalists and researchers, while discovering stunning natural environments above and below the sea.

Sven Lindblad, president and CEO of the company, says: “The launch of this ship will mark the 50th anniversary year of the first-ever purpose-built expedition ship, Lindblad Explorer, which was built by my father, Lars-Eric Lindblad.”

www.frontierenergy.info WINTER 2018 13

ARCTIC SHIPPING

A STEP CHANGE for polar research ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

With a launch date of 2019, the state-of-the-art research vessel RRS Sir David Attenborough is currently under construction in the UK. When commissioned, it will be the world’s most advanced polar research vessel boasting a range of over 35,000 km and a capability of spending 60 days at sea without resupply

128

Length (m)

24

Beam (m)

15,000

Weight (gt)

19,000

Range (nm)

60

Days endurance

30

Crew

900

Scientific cargo volume (m3)

C

ommissioned by the UK’s Government’s sponsored NERC (Natural Environment Research Council), operated by British Antarctic Survey (BAS), and built by the British shipyard Cammell Laird, the polar research vessel RRS Sir David Attenborough will transform scientific knowledge of the polar regions. This £220 million commitment represents the UK Government’s largest investment in polar science since the 1980s.

Fitted with more than 750m of reconfigurable laboratory space, an extraordinary array of ultra-modern instrumentation, remotely piloted aerial and underwater vehicles and advanced operational facilities, the vessel will allow BAS to continue pioneering polar research for the next 25 years.

The Rolls-Royce UT 851 POLAR design was selected and developed specifically to meet Cammell Laird’s complex requirements.

2

MAIN PARTICULARS Length: 128; beam: 24 m; weight: 15,000 gt Scientific cargo volume of approximately 900m³ Endurance: up to 60 days (Polar Regions) Range: 19,000nm at 13 knots (24 km/h) cruising speed; more than enough for a return trip from England to Rothera Research Station, or to circle the entire Antarctic continent twice!

Ice breaking capability: up to 1m thick at 3 knots (5.6 km/h) Bow and stern thrusters for excellent

14 WINTER 2018 www.frontierenergy.info

Among the main requirements are very low levels of underwater radiated noise, Polar Code 4 ice class, Lloyd’s Register classification, space for a total of 90 people, a large cargo capacity, long cruising range and endurance and a minimum risk of pollution.

Construction The vessel is currently under construction in Cammell Laird, Birkenhead, north-west England, a yard chosen following a 12-month competitive tender involving bids from companies in the UK, Europe and the Far East. First steel was cut in autumn 2016 with delivery scheduled for 2019.

The ship will be the first British-built polar research vessel with a helideck. “Tonne for tonne, the UK will have the most advanced oceanographic research vessel fleet in the world,” says Rolls-Royce.

Many of the RRS Sir David Attenborough’s The RRS Sir David Attenborough – UT 851 POLAR ship design in profile

dynamic positioning in challenging conditions Launch and recovery of aerial and ocean robotic systems

Crew: approx. 30 Accommodation: for a further 60 scientists and support staff.

Images: Courtesy Rolls-Royce

RRS SIR DAVID ATTENBOROUGH IN NUMBERS

An artist’s impression of the The RRS Sir David Attenborough, which will support state-of-theart research across Polar regions

ARCTIC SHIPPING

passengers will be research scientists and not mariners. For these non-mariners passenger comfort is important, allowing them to work effectively. Accommodation and laboratories are mostly grouped around the centre of buoyancy, mid-ships. The vessel also has a roll reduction system.

The vessel is the first British polar research ship to feature a moon pool – a vertical shaft (4 x 4 m) running through the vessel and open to both the air (at deck level) and sea (at the hull). “Using the moon pool, scientific equipment can be deployed and recovered through the centre, and thus most stable part, of the hull. This is both easier and safer than deploying equipment over the side or stern, particularly in the rough seas characteristic of the polar oceans,” says Rolls-Royce. In supply vessel mode, the UT 851 is able to transport fuels and containerised cargo and operate two small helicopters. An endurance of up to 60 days in sea-ice will enable scientists to gather more observations and data, and it will be a platform for a broad range of science, researching subjects from oceanography and marine ecology to geophysics.

“The first requirement,” says Rolls-Royce designer Einar Vesgund, “was ice breaking capability.” The vessel can break ice to a thickness of 1.5 metres due to its hull design, and integrating the propeller and rudder with the hull, and powerful Rolls-Royce engines.

Rolls-Royce will supply a full package of equipment and systems, including the dieselelectric propulsion system powered by the new Bergen B33:45 engines (two nine-cylinder and two six-cylinder engines) together with 4.5 m CP propellers in a Promas installation

CARGO HANDLING FACILITIES Main crane: 50 t @18 m (use on port side only), 20 t @ 33 m (use on either side) Provision crane on helideck: 8 t @ 16 m Starboard deck service crane: 8 t @ 8 m, 5 t @16 m, 2 @ 21 m • Port deck service crane (5 t @16 m) • Port & starboard side science cranes (5 t @ 16m) • Additional crane on cargo tender.

Source: British Antarctic Survey

driven by two independent motors on each shaft, and auxiliary thrusters to meet requirements for redundant propulsion and dynamic positioning.

Main engines The vessel is being fitted with four main engines, two nine-cylinder and two sixcylinder models of the same family and built

by Rolls-Royce. The configuration of various engine sizes allows for effective operations across the wide range of conditions that the vessel is likely to encounter. In addition, a smaller harbour generator is also installed to allow the vessel to operate when in port

The vessel is the first British polar research ship to feature a moon pool

without the main engines idling.

The four main engines are designed to operate on ultra low sulphur fuel containing less than 0.1% sulphur. This limits its sulphur oxide emissions and meets the latest MARPOL requirements for operating in sulphur emission-controlled areas.

An oily bilge water separator will also comply with the latest MARPOL requirements. The separator consists of a high-speed centrifuge to reduce the oil content of the bilge water discharged to less than 5 ppm, or less than 0.0005%. Furthermore, biodegradable oils have been specified wherever possible, including in the stern tube lubrication and deck hydraulic systems.

Rolls-Royce deck machinery systems support a wide range of specific tools and equipment, including combining a variety of different winches into a reduced deck space area. These include winches for subsea acoustic survey equipment using up to 12,000 m of wire, or deploying equipment at depths of up to 9,000 m to collect seabed samples. Onboard laboratories will allow prompt analysis of samples. A stern and side A-frame will enable the deployment of other systems.

With a launch date approaching fast, our understanding of polar environments, science and the impact of human activity on the Arctic and Antarctic regions is about to be significantly enhanced. As construction of the RRS Sir David Attenborough approaches its 2019 completion, the indigenous, scientific, environmental and business communities active in the Polar regions are preparing to receive valuable information that will inform operational decisions for decades ahead. FE www.frontierenergy.info WINTER 2018 15

ARCTIC SHIPPING

POLE POSITION Eimskip and Royal Arctic Line are leading the way to expand trade channels between Iceland, Greenland, North America, Scandinavia and the rest of Europe. The potential is huge, but conditions are challenging, writes Andrass Joensen, DNV GL’s Station Manager for the region ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

S

hipping lines Eimskip and Royal Arctic Line have ambitious plans for the Far North. Eimskip, an Icelandic transportation specialist with a eet of 22 vessels, and Royal Arctic Line, which has the sole concession for sea cargo transport to and from Greenland, are buying three new containerships to boost trade between their nations and key markets to new and prosperous levels.

ClassiďŹ cation society DNV GL is working its new container vessels to get them Polar Code-compliant.

Diminishing regional ice coverage, married to expanding island infrastructure, has created a platform for opportunity. However, the Arctic’s unique conditions require special consideration, with a need for all new ships operating in the area to comply with the IMO’s recently adopted Polar Code. DNV GL China is ensuring this is the case, working closely with the Guangzhou Wenchong Shipyard to certify these new ships.

16 WINTER 2018 www.frontierenergy.info

MAIN PARTICULARS: POLAR COMPLIANT CARGO VESSELS Length: % ' )*& Length between perpendiculars % ' )*& Width: ************************************** ******* )' *& Depth: ************************************** *******% ' )*& Draught: ********************************** ********* '))*& Scantling draught: ****************** *******%)' )*& Class notation: " * * %$*# *!

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Transforming trade Eimskip and Royal Arctic Line, which is owned by the Government of Greenland, initially signed the capacity-sharing contract in 2016. The move is being seen as, in the words of Verner Hammeken, CEO of Royal Arctic Line, an important step for connecting

An artist’s impression of Eimskip’s new Polar-ready cargo vessels

Greenland to global markets. GylďŹ SigfĂşsson, President and CEO of Eimskip, says the vessels will help fast-track developing regional economies: “The port developments in Nuuk (Greenland), ReykjavĂ­k and TĂłrshavn (Faroe Islands) will enable larger vessels to serve in our market area. We assume that the cooperation will increase business activities in the Arctic region, especially between Iceland and Greenland. Activities have, until now, been limited due to lack of frequency and direct services.â€?

Injecting the added capacity will not only transform the trade routes, but, according to Hammeken, will produce huge knock-on effects for businesses in Greenland. He states: “It creates opportunities for our export customers, allowing goods to be further reďŹ ned in Greenland before transporting them directly to destinations all over the world in a more efďŹ cient way. Customers can also select transportation directly from new market areas instead of having to go only through Denmark.

With this, we are looking at a future with more options, and higher efďŹ ciency, making it easy to do business with Greenlandâ€?.

Rigorous requirements Doing business may be easy, but the conditions the ships encounter certainly won’t be. To ensure the requisite levels of safety and

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LOGY t TRAINING

ARCTIC SHIPPING

Magne Viking AHST, the world’s first ever first ever Polar Codecompliant vessel

environmental protection, the IMO has responded to increased levels of Arctic and Antarctic shipping activity with the Polar Code.

From 1 January 2017, all new vessels operating above 60 degrees north (extending down to a demarcated area at 58 degrees north) and below 60 degrees south must comply with the code. Vessels constructed before this date must be compliant by the first intermediate or renewal survey after the start of 2018.

This means stringent requirements relating to vessel design, construction and equipment, with further operational needs for, amongst other things, crew training, and search and rescue capability.

In the very harshest of environments, every element of every vessel must be fit for purpose. This is where class plays an important role.

Partnerships DNV GL supports shipowners to achieve compliant operations in polar regions – providing advisory services to help prepare for compliance and statutory certification on 18 WINTER 2018 www.frontierenergy.info

behalf of flag administrations.

In February 2016, DNV GL made history by certifying the first ever Polar Codecompliant vessel, working with the Danish Maritime Authority to certify the AHTS Magne Viking, owned by Viking Supply Ships.

This established expertise is now in demand worldwide, much to the advantage of owners such as Eimskip and Royal Arctic Line. DNV

In February 2016, DNV GL made history by certifying the first ever Polar Code-compliant vessel.

GL China is working alongside them and China Shipbuilding Trading Company and Guangzhou Wenchong Shipyard to oversee the construction of the three 180 m long, 31 m wide vessels, all of which boast capacities of 2,150 TEU. The Ice Class ships, two of which will be owned by Eimskip and one by Royal Arctic Line, are expected to be

delivered in April, May and June 2019.

Finland-headquartered Deltamarin was responsible for the design of the vessels, which it notes are designed to achieve the best possible key performance indicators, such as container carriage variety, homogenous loading capacity, optimal manoeuvrability and harsh-weather seakeeping performance.

“We are very proud of this new contract, which further confirms our expertise in cargo ships,” says Markku Miinala, Director, Sales and Marketing, at Deltamarin. The design is based the company’s development work for a new generation of energy-efficient and operationally optimized 1,000-3,000 TEU container vessels intended for feeder service.

Once operational, Eimskip and Royal Arctic Line’s new assets can call on the support and service of DNV GL’s regional network of bases, including its dedicated teams situated in Tórshavn, Reykjavík and Nuuk. FE Reprinted with kind permission of DNV GL.

ARCTIC COUNCIL

New leadership for ACS The Arctic Council recently selected Nina Vaaja as the new director of the Arctic Council Secretariat (ACS) in Tromsø, Norway. Having served as deputy director for the ACS from 20132017, Ms Vaaja is well-prepared for the tasks ahead

Q: How did you first come to be engaged with Arctic issues, and what led you to the Arctic Council Secretariat when you first joined?

The Arctic Council is a key forum for discussing and managing the huge range of issues facing the region

Actually, I’ve been engaged with Arctic issues my whole life, although of course I never thought about it when I was a child. I was born and raised in Tromsø, Norway, high above the Arctic Circle. In school, I started studying the Russian language, and I visited Russia on several occasions. A lot of my interest in Arctic issues, international relations, and politics germinated in these early years. After I started my professional career in Norway’s foreign service, I served at the Norwegian consulate general in Murmansk for two years. After my stint in Murmansk, I did move away from Arctic issues for a couple of years, living in cities like Oslo, London and Rome. But, although I enjoyed living in the South, there was always a part of me that longed to return to the North, and to Arctic issues. When I was offered a chance to move back to Tromsø, my home town, to work at the Secretariat, I happily accepted. I haven’t had any regrets since; I get to live where I most want to be, and I have a fascinating job!

been growing steadily, and we now see Council meetings taking place year-round.

There’s also been substantial growth in our capacity to communicate outwardly about the great work that is going on within the Arctic Council. I hope that the establishment of the ACS has helped the Council as a whole to grow by adding stable professional capacity, not least for communications and outreach, and by serving as the Council’s institutional memory.

Q: You led the temporary Arctic Council Secretariat prior to 2013, and have been with the standing ACS since it opened its doors.

How has the organisation changed since you began?

When I first came to the ACS in 2009, we were building the office from scratch, so it

goes without saying that a great deal has changed. As Arctic issues have moved higher and higher on the international agenda, the Arctic Council has also become a larger and more complex forum. For example, there are more subsidiary bodies now than there were in the early days. The breadth of our work has also expanded, and today we deal with a myriad of Arctic issues as varied as biodiversity monitoring, indigenous language preservation, black carbon emissions reduction, marine protected areas, invasive species, search and rescue, oil pollution prevention and response, chemicals of emerging concern in the Arctic environment, and – of course – climate change.

Many factors have caused the Council to develop in this way, including climate change, increasing access to the Arctic Ocean, and growing political interest in the world at large and “at home” among the Arctic states.

Accordingly, the Council’s level of activity has

Q: Which aspects of this role are you most looking forward to during your tenure, and are there any challenges that you see?

I’m really looking forward to working with the many great people from the states, permanent participants, Working groups, and observers who are involved with the Arctic Council’s work, and, of course, with my colleagues here at the ACS. We have an amazing team, full of people who always go the extra mile for the Arctic Council when it’s needed. The Council is in an exciting time now, having passed its 20-year anniversary in 2016, and looking at an Arctic region that is facing many challenges and rapid changes ahead. I hope the ACS will continue to be able to provide the support that the Council needs as it consolidates its position as the primary forum for Arctic issues. www.arctic-council.org www.frontierenergy.info WINTER 2018 19

ARCTIC SHIPPING

HEAVY LIFT kick-starts Yamal LNG The pioneering heavy lift voyages by the Audax and Pugnax vessels, owned by Netherlandsbased Red Box Energy Services, which contributed to the construction of the vast Yamal LNG complex on Russia’s Northern coast, have opened up a range of possibilities of working in extreme and hostile conditions

20 WINTER 2018 www.frontierenergy.info

T

he vast and sprawling Yamal Liquefied Natural Gas plant in Sabetta, a port in the far north of Russia, was constructed from several hundred different modules, sourced from around the world. Weighing up to 10,000 tonnes, the modules were delivered to the complex over several years. Each train includes about 50 modules weighing between 500 tonnes and 10,000 tonnes, and measuring as large as 80 m long, 40 m wide, and 30 m high. The majority were fabricated in east Asia.

Constructed by Guangzhou Shipbuilding at its Longxue facility in Guangzhou, China, the Audax and sistership Pugnax are the largest polar ice-breaking, heavy life module carriers ever built. Owned by Netherlands-based Red Box Energy Services, the vessels are able to operate year-round in extreme Arctic conditions.

The heavy cargo ships also have good open sea performance and were designed for exceptional ice conditions as they required the capability to move in the Gulf of Ob round the year in order to keep the construction of

the LNG plant on schedule. For ice capability, they are ice strengthened and classed at the highest level, Polar Class 3 and Arc7.

Rinse van Lievenoogen, Chief Technical Officer at Red Box, says the crew for company’s heavy lift vessels were extensively prepared for the harsh environmental conditions found in Yamal, passing on two key messages learnt from operating in polar waters: when air temperatures can fall to -40 C˚, rigorously enforce the buddy system in which a single crew member is never allowed to work outside without a colleague, and the maximum time spent outside should be just 10 minutes.

Operating conditions Two of the major challenges in designing the vessels were firstly the weight of the modules and secondly the way loading was to take place – as the ship needs to stay balanced at all times. The design was optimised during construction so that it did not become too heavy but remained strong enough to manage the weight.

ARCTIC SHIPPING

A fully laden Audax carving a route through Arctic ice

In extreme conditions work on deck is only permitted for short periods

With a draught of between 5-12 m, to account for changing tides while unloading modules, stability requirements of such vessels call for sophisticated ballast systems. Thus, a new system was designed capable of transferring ballast water internally in such a way as to improve the control and efficiency of discharge operations.

Maintaining equilibrium between the vessel deck and the loading quay throughout the tidal cycle, while at the same time being able to manage the vessel trim during the discharge of ultra heavy cargoes, was critical.

“The hulls were protected by epoxy paint which did not need to be repaired after the voyages. The paint worked very effectively,” says Rinse. The ice/hull interface was not affected by the harsh conditions, performing to and above expectations.

The vast Yamal LNG project awarded Red Box the contract to build and manage the two specialised PC-3 ice-classed deck carriers. The Audax and Pugnax were developed with a minimum time charter of four years. The contract was worth $320 million, with

contracts starting in January and April, 2016, respectively.

In all, five vessels from the Red Box fleet were used on the Yamal LNG project, the Audax, Pugnax, Hua Yang Long, Red Zed l and Red Zed ll. Between them, the vessels completed over 30 voyages on the Northern Sea Route, from Asian module fabrication yards, particularly ex-China. Red Box completed over 50% of the lifting by weight and reported no major incidents.

Ice capabilities Audax and Pugnax are diesel-electric ships operating with ice class Arc7, which means they can sail in ice up to 1.5 m thick.

On April 28, 2017, Russia’s Atomflot’s nuclear-powered icebreaker 50 Let Pobedy began clearing the path for the Audax, which was the first heavy lift ship transporting project cargoes that has successfully passed through the channel of the Gulf of Ob with the assistance of an icebreaker.

“The icebreaker escort proved the possibility to transit the channel by large

The Audax, ready to unload a module at Sabetta

tonnage ships,” said Andrey Smirnov, Deputy CEO, Atomflot Fleet Operations, at the time.

The vessels are winterized down to -50°C. One key issue dealing with transporting heavy, large loads into Arctic waters includes effective removal of ice from the deck and other areas.

Working with designer Aker Arctic, various options were studied in order to find the best solution for the removal of the ice. A special feature of the ship is the heating system for the deck, which manages spray blown off the sea that would normally freeze immediately on contact with the ship, creating hazardous snow and ice cover on the large 43 x 175 m deck area. Ice, in particular, must be removed from the deck to ensure safe operation during offloading at down to -40°C. An extensive amount of model testing at Aker Arctic facilities took place to ensure requirements of both good open water features and ice performance were met without construction prices becoming excessive.

Slamming pressure measurement was particularly important, while CFD calculations were used extensively for optimising open www.frontierenergy.info WINTER 2018 21

ARCTIC SHIPPING

MAIN PARTICULARS Audax and Pugnax

Audax leading her sister vessel Pugnax through Arctic ice

water characteristics. The carrier can proceed at a speed of 3 knots in 1.5 m thick ice with 2 x 12 MW propulsion power.

Aker Arctic used CFD tools to model both radiation and convection from possible heating systems to the deck. The challenge was to optimise the heating system so that it is efficient, but does not create too much weight.

The final solution was to place steam pipes below the deck, which are turned on 24 hours before the arrival. The heat melts the ice enough to create a thin water layer below it so that the rest can be shuffled away mechanically.

Red Box’s vessels are 43 m in beam, enabling large LNG units to be safely transported, says Rinse. “The vessels’ large deck areas are allowed by the innovative bowshaped hull. And being ARC-7 classed allows us to operate throughout the year.”

Modules for Yamal Audax and Pugnax delivered modules for Yamal LNG, sometimes referred to as ‘Russia’s Window to the Asia-Pacific’. Yamal is a vast LNG complex launched in late 2013.

Led by French energy-major Total, it leverages the immense onshore gas resources of Russia’s Yamal Peninsula where Total is developing the enormous South Tambey gas and condensate field alongside partners from Russia Novatek (50.1%), China CNPC (20%) and the Silk Road Fund (9.9%).

The first condensate delivery was made in January 2018, through difficult local ice conditions in the Gulf of Ob which are highly complex at that time of winter.

The project aims to tap natural gas reserves totalling more than 4 billion barrels of oil equivalent. To do so, more than 200 wells have been drilled and three liquefaction trains built, each with a capacity of 5.5 million tonnes. Every year, nearly 16.5 million tonnes of LNG will transit through the port of Sabetta, with all LNG production sold to customers in Europe and Asia under 15- to 20-year contracts.

Yamal LNG is located above the Polar 22 WINTER 2018 www.frontierenergy.info

Circle in the Ob River estuary, a wild, remote region that is frozen for seven-to-nine months a year.

At the start of the project, there were no access routes to the site by land or by sea. To facilitate the transportation of equipment and staff, construction began on a large-capacity regional transportation hub in 2011, comprising the port of Sabetta and an international airport.

Length o. a.

206.3 m Length b.p.

193.8 m Breadth moulded 43 m Depth moulded 13.5 m Design draught 7.5 m Ice draught 8m Deadweight, at design draught 24,500 ton Deadweight, at scantling draught about 28,500 t Draught, max. ballasted (in harbour cond.)

12.0 m Gross tonnage 34,000 t Ice speed 3 kn Service speed 13 kn Complement 31 people Deck area approx 175 x 43 m 2

Capable of sailing in ice 1.5 m thick at vessel speed 3 kn Winterised up to -40C˚ Required Ice Class Notation PC-3 Classification: DNV: +1A1, GENERAL CARGO CARRIER, DK(+), PC-3, E0, NAUTAW, CLEAN, BWM-T , BIS, TMO

Track record Red Box Energy Services was founded by a group of 14 marine heavy transport professionals who founded the company after Fairstar Heavy Transport was acquired by Dockwise in 2012 through a hostile takeover.

The Red Box team has extensive experience in the full scope of energy logistics services and were deeply involved in executing the Gorgon LNG, Ichthys LNG, Tombua Landana and Golden Eagle transportation contracts, as well as with a wide range of floating cargoes such as jack-up rigs, cranes and other semi-submersible cargoes.

For Chevron LNG’s ground-breaking Gorgon project, Red Box managed a $190 million transportation contract, reflecting a significant chunk of the total marine transport scope for the $42 billion LNG project. Gorgon is located on Barrow Island in Australia, and was developed by the Gorgon Joint Venture which includes subsidiaries of Chevron, Shell and ExxonMobil.

During construction, the project is estimated to require 250,000 tons of modules to be transported from manufacturing sites in

Rinse van Lievenoogen, Chief Technical Officer at Red Box Energy Services.

Module transportation capability • Capable to load, transporting and discharging two modules weighing 10,000 tons each • Obstacle free deck area for unrestricted side and stern load-outs.

Singapore, Korea and China.

Another significant project Red Box worked with was the LNG Ichthys project, 200 km offshore western Australia in the Browse Basin. The project was developed by a joint venture between Japan-headquartered Inpex, and French major Total. Here Red Box managed almost 50% of the total marine transportation scope.

Audax and Pugnax Audax and Pugnax are PC-3 Polar Class deck carriers, and two of the largest such vessels plying their trade to global heavy lift sector and the largest capable of operating in polar conditions.

Audax was delivered in January 2016, and Pugnax four months later. They are capable of navigating year round in the often hostile waters above the Polar Circle and were contracted for a five-year time charter upon delivery. FE Red Box Energy Services will be present at the Arctic Technology Conference (www.otcnet.org/arctic) this November in Houston, Texas.

INSURANCE

Operating in Arctic conditions requires risk reduction in managing any environmental impact

Marine insurance and

ARCTIC RISK ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Shipowners may welcome more ice-free transit in Arctic waters, but according to a recent DNV GL study sponsored by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the industry should share more data with marine insurers to assess and manage risk

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he retreat of Arctic ice has opened new possibilities for tourism, resource exploration, development and marine transport. For example, over the past decade alone, cruiseship activity in Svalbard, an archipelago between mainland Norway and the North Pole, has doubled. At the same time, oil shipments from the Russian Arctic jumped from insignificance to 10 million tonnes per year.

“Wherever there is industrial activity, there

Wherever there is industrial activity, there is risk, and nowhere more so than in the Arctic is risk, and nowhere more so than in the Arctic,” says Steven Sawhill, Discipline Leader, Cold Climate Advisory Services at DNV GL – Maritime.

“Imagine if an accident –be it a cruiseship or an oil tanker – occurred in polar waters,” he says.

Marine insurers certainly acknowledge the risks, but perhaps have not fully appreciated the difficulty and costs of arranging rescue, salvage and environmental clean-up operations in these waters.

Sawhill, who has spent most of his career studying shipping in the High North, notes that in some areas, the harsh environment increases the likelihood of accidents and, given the pristine state of many of the region’s marine ecosystems, the environmental consequences of an accident could be catastrophic.

Increased shipping activity, combined with harsh weather, pervasive ice, limited hydrographical and bathymetric charting, and the scarcity of land-based emergency www.frontierenergy.info WINTER 2018 23

INSURANCE

response infrastructure, all contribute to higher risk, he says.

Assessing these risks properly is critical to ensuring safety and preserving the environment.

A comprehensive study In 2015, DNV GL was approached by the America-based Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation with the request to prepare a study identifying mechanisms that the marine insurance and reinsurance sectors (I&RS) currently use to reduce risks to Arctic marine ecosystems and coastal communities from vessel traffic. Over the next year, DNV GL organised the study around a literature review, online questionnaires, workshops with nongovernmental organisations with interests in Arctic environmental protection, and in-depth interviews with a small, targeted set of marine insurance professionals.

“We soon discovered that there was very little published material on the subject, and when we began to analyse our surveys, we saw that while marine insurers understand Arctic shipping is risky, many did not feel they had sufficient information to adequately assess these risks,” says Sawhill.

Many look to regulators, class, owners and even, to a lesser degree, flag states, to assess risk. Furthermore, their exposure to Arctic risk is minimal, leading to some ambivalence among marine insurers.

The amount of trade in the Arctic and the number of incidents is too low for us to get a handle on the loss severity side of the equation.

As one interviewee said: “We do not want to spook our members by being too reactionary, but neither do we want to give them a false sense of security.”

Knowledge gap This lack of knowledge also makes it difficult for marine insurers to calculate Arctic risks and set payouts. As one insurer put it: “The amount of trade in the Arctic and the number of incidents is too low for us to get a handle on the loss severity side of the equation. We have too little experience on the cost of dealing with an incident in these waters.

Sawhill notes that this lack of experience may lead some insurers to overlook ways in which the terms of their coverage might be amended to encourage safer operations in Arctic waters. For example, the survey showed that insurers don’t consider routing as 24 WINTER 2018 www.frontierenergy.info

a factor in underwriting.

“We do not instruct, ask or advise our insured on minimising routing impacts,” explained one insurer.

“We do not have any measures or instructions on avoiding essential marine habitat or designated areas. This is very operationally related and is not a mandatory requirement.”

“We do not have any measures or instructions on avoiding essential marine habitat or designated areas. This is very operationally related and is not a mandatory requirement.”

At the same time, others acknowledged that if good information on such areas and best practice is readily available, it could be incorporated in the underwriting and loss prevention process.

Sawhill is careful to point out that marine insurers understand that operation in polar waters represents a new risk picture and have shown a willingness to learn more, but that many don’t know where to turn.

It is in everyone’s interest that marine insurers get involved and work more closely with owners, class and relevant organizations to share knowledge,” says Sawhill.

Fortunately, marine insurers see themselves as part of the solution and are willing to take measures to improve safety – and remain competitive.

Indeed, the marine insurance sector has not been idle. In 2012, marine insurer Lloyd’s of London commissioned a comprehensive study (Arctic Opening: Opportunity and Risk in the High North) that detailed the challenges of operating in the Arctic. Other reports followed, and their findings helped shape the IMO’s International Code for Ships Operating in Polar Waters (the Polar Code), which went into force on 1 January 2017.

Critically, the Polar Code includes POLARIS, an operational risk assessment tool to help operators evaluate whether a ship of a given iceclass can safely operate in a given ice condition.

A collaborative approach In May 2017, the Arctic Council (made up of eight countries with interests in the Arctic) launched the Arctic Shipping Best Practice Information Forum.

Michael Kingston, a UK-based maritime lawyer who is assisting the Arctic Council’s Shipping Expert Group in the development of the forum and represented the International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI) at the

IMO, says this work will be critical going forward.

The aim of the forum is to raise awareness of all those involved and might be potentially affected by Arctic marine operations, and to facilitate the exchange of information between the forum members,” he explains. “By bringing together all stakeholders, including marine insurers, to share information and best practices, we can take a big step toward to minimize Arctic risk.”

Kingston adds that the forum members will soon have access to a web-based knowledgesharing portal, which will be launched in early 2018.

Kingston also worked with Sawhill to analyse the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation DNV GL report (see page 23). He notes that while its findings are useful in identifying specific knowledge and perception gaps, the report also serves as a call to action.

“While directed at marine insurers, I encourage all stakeholders to review this report,” he says.

Everyone understands the opportunities of Arctic shipping and drilling, but not well enough the risks. As the report notes, the risk management resources are there –but they are not much good unless people use them.”

Shared responsibility For Sawhill, minimising risk in the Arctic cannot be achieved with the passage of some regulation, industry guideline or class notation – all industry stakeholders must play an active role. And considering the level of risk in polar waters, the alternative is almost unthinkable.

“There is a tendency in our industry to wait for a disaster before making changes, then expressing dissatisfaction after the legislation comes into force,” says Sawhill.

Everyone understands the opportunities of Arctic shipping and drilling, but not well enough the risks.

“Regulations rushed into force under these conditions do not address underlying causes but public outrage, often generated by shocking images: victims in a lifeboat, a soiled beach, an oil-covered seabird. Our goal is to encourage the industry to take a more proactive, collaborative and transparent approach to managing polar risk.

“After all, if the industry plans to operate in these waters, we have an obligation to show the world we can do it safely with minimal impact on the environment.” FE Reprinted with kind permission of DNV GL

SAFETY

SEDNA research COLLABORATION ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Research into safety issues is demanded by the Arctic’s harsh conditions

Ice loads SEDNA will look at how ice loads on a ship hull affect the safety of the hull structure and the ship manoeuvring performance in icecovered regions. The ice loading process has a clear stochastic nature, due to variations in the ice conditions and in the icebreaking processes of ships.

The research will use numerical simulation

Canada launches polar safety push Canada’s Arctic is a vast and diverse region that is an integral part of the country. It relies on its marine transportation to connect it to other trading nations and provide an essential lifeline for northern communities.

Seeking to ensure safe working operations in the country, the government agency Transport Canada has introduced new Arctic Shipping Safety and Pollution Prevention Regulations.

The regulations incorporate the International Code for Ships Operating in Polar Waters (the Polar Code) into Canada’s domestic legislation.

Image: Transport Canada

A

consortium of 13 research organisations and industrial partners from six countries has launched a joint development project, SEDNA, to address improved safety and efficiency in arctic ship operations. Funded by the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme, the threeyear project sets out to develop a novel risk-based approach to Arctic navigation, ship design and maritime operations. Partners include BMT from the UK, several universities including UCL of London, Chalmers University of Technology from Sweden, and AHO, The Oslo School of Architecture in Norway.

SEDNA focuses on topics including modern bridge systems with state-of-the-art tools, improvement in voyage planning incorporating data transfer and big data utilisation, research on anti-icing solutions, and safety assessment of low flashpoint fuels, as well as risk-based methodology in the design and operation for ice-going vessels.

“This international development project provides a good platform to further improve the areas in safety and efficiency of the designs for the arctic shipping and navigation,” says Reko-Antti Suojanen, Managing Director of Aker Arctic Technology Inc.

tools to study the different characteristics of various ice types and icebreaking processes to be used for prediction of the probabilistic ice loads on the studied sea areas.

On the basis of this analysis, and using nature-inspired approaches, SEDNA will develop anti-icing engineering solutions to reduce the impact of ice formation on vessel stability, safety equipment and onboard safety.

Research focus In particular, SEDNA will seek to understand the production and characterisation of adherent, robust and efficient ice-phobic coatings, including structural, composition, adhesion, hardness, wear, abrasion, UV, biofouling and corrosion resistant testing, laboratory ice-phobicity and de-icing assessments: nanocomposite coatings; biomimetic anti-icing coatings; and energy efficient electro-thermal coatings.

It will also research smart and multifunctional coatings with integrated antiicing/de-icing capabilities, production and optimisation of large area prototypes antiicing/de-icing coatings, and prototypes of optimised large area anti-icing/de-icing coatings for field trials.

The Polar Code addresses the unique hazards encountered by certain vessels that operate in the Arctic and Antarctic. The Polar Code and Canada’s new regulations include a variety of safety and pollution prevention measures, including those related to vessel design and equipment, vessel operations and crew training.

Leadership role Drawing from decades of experience as an Arctic regulator, Canada played a key leadership role in developing the Polar Code at the International Maritime Organization.

In addition, Transport Canada is taking action to protect its coasts and support safe and responsible shipping in Arctic waters

Arctic shipping policies seminar A half-day seminar, this March in Brussels, brings together policy makers, industry and academia, to discuss current issues in Arctic maritime shipping policy and operations.

Given the sensitivity of and the increasing pressures on the Arctic ecosystem, there is a need for policies, technologies, and operational practices ensuring the safety of navigation while minimising environmental impacts.

The half-day seminar brings together policy makers, industry and academia, to discuss current issues in Arctic maritime shipping policy and operations. Keynote speeches by leading experts are followed by a moderated discussion. After the seminar, a poster session is organised where researchers from academia and experts from industry showcase their work.

The seminar is organized by Aalto University and Northern Dimension Institute.

Details of this and other events can be found here: www.sedna-project.eu

through the Oceans Protection Plan. Marc Garneau, Minister of Transport, said in August 2017 that more than C$175million in funding has been earmarked to help protect Arctic waters.

As part of the Oceans Protection Plan, the Government committed to reviewing the Pilotage Act to support the delivery of safe, efficient and environmentally responsible pilotage services. The ongoing review addresses a wide range of topics including governance, safety, labour models, tariffs, economic considerations and emerging issues, including pilotage in the North.

The $1.5 billion Oceans Protection Plan is the largest investment ever made to protect Canada’s coasts and waterways.

www.frontierenergy.info WINTER 2018 25

BOOK REVIEW

ICEBREAKER: A Voyage Far North

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

‘We are celebrating a hundred years since independence this year: how would you like to travel on a government icebreaker?’

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his message from the Finnish embassy launches Horatio Clare on a voyage around an extraordinary country and an unearthly place, the frozen Bay of Bothnia, just short of the Arctic Circle. Travelling with the crew of Icebreaker Otso, Horatio, whose last adventure saw him embedded on Maersk container vessels for the bestseller Down to the Sea in Ships, discovers stories of Finland, of her mariners and of ice.

Finland is an enigmatic place, famous for its educational miracle, healthcare and gender equality – as well as Nokia, Angry Birds, saunas, questionable cuisine and deep taciturnity.

Aboard Otso Horatio gets to know the men who make up her crew, and explores Finland’s history and character.

Surrounded by the extraordinary colours and conditions of a frozen sea, he also comes to understand something of the complexity and fragile beauty of ice, a near-miraculous substance which cools the planet, gives the stars their twinkle and which may hold all our futures in its crystals.

‘Down to the Sea in Ships’. For this voyage, Horatio travels on the icebreaker Otso, which is clearing a path through the Arctic Circle.

By the book’s page 140, he starts to understand the extraordinary landscape through which he is travelling and now surrounds him.

He writes: “I am beginning to develop a feel for the ice now, as I circle the deck in the freezing dark, listening to it. It is like weather, like rain or mist, in the way it comes upon us according to its own laws.

It is like the sea in its tenacity and its restlessness, in the way it moves ship tracks, grapples down buoys, traps stragglers and climbs hulls. It is like rust, like entropy, in the way it sidles aboard,

Horatio’s book is a beautifully written insight into spending time aboard a powerful vessel, crashing through some of the world’s most extreme landscapes... rinds the rails with icicles, patches the decks and stiffens the ropes. But in its reformations and renewals, in its unpredictability and its beauty, ice is all but alive�.

Horatio’s book is a beautifully written insight into spending time aboard a powerful vessel, crashing through some of the world’s most extreme landscapes, but one that is changing rapidly. FE

An ice-cold exploration of Finland and ships, told with style and wit by the author of

Published in November 2017, ‘Icebreaker; A Voyage Far North’ is available online from publishers Chatto & Windus.

Britain and the Arctic,

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ENVIRONMENT

functions today will help us better predict and manage how it may change in the future.”

The ultimate goal of Changing Arctic Oceans is to generate a better understanding of the Arctic so models can more accurately predict future change to the environment and the ecosystem. Within the programme itself there are 76 scientists, with the lead investigators from the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) and the Universities of Leeds and Liverpool.

Four projects

Understanding SEA ICE LOSS ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Changing Arctic Oceans is a new £10m research programme created to investigate how the Arctic Ocean is changing is working with a research vessel on the Barents Sea. Over 20 researchers from 16 UK research institutes have joined forces to understand the knock-on effects of rapid warming and sea ice loss in the Arctic region

S

of complex interactions between different ome of the clearest signs of change are organisms in the ocean and on the seafloor. the thinning and retreat of sea ice and the migration of species into the Arctic Robotic underwater vehicles will also be that normally live at lower latitudes. These deployed to collect data near the edge of the changes are likely to have an unprecedented sea ice. Hundreds of litres of seawater will be impact on how the Arctic ecosystem operates. filtered to capture phytoplankton, and special For example, the fastest warming oceanic plankton nets will capture zooplankton, small region in the world, animals that are an the Arctic, could be essential food source free of sea ice in The UK scientists will contribute in the Arctic. summer within a few Dr Jo Hopkins, to international efforts to build a from the National decades. This change Oceanography Centre is likely to affect the comprehensive picture of the and Principal UK climate and constantly changing Arctic Scientific Officer on economy, with environment. the ship, says: “This anticipated impacts is an exciting and on industries like ambitious first cruise tourism and fisheries.

The UK scientists will contribute to that will collect a vast amount of information international efforts to build a comprehensive about Arctic water and sediments and the life picture of the constantly changing Arctic that they support. Improving our environment. They will look at a wide range understanding of how the Arctic ecosystem

The four projects cover different aspects of the programme’s goals: the way change in the Arctic is affecting the food chain, from small organisms at the bottom to large predators at the top (ARISE), how warming influences the single main food source at the bottom of the food chain (DIAPOD), the effect of retreating and thinning sea ice on nutrients and sea life in the surface ocean (Arctic PRIZE), and on the ecosystem at the seafloor (ChAOS).

Dr Christian März, University of Leeds, describes the project he leads: “Our ChAOS project will focus on the bottom of the Arctic Ocean, the seafloor, which is by no means the boring, dark environment it might be perceived as. It is, in fact, a complex ecosystem teeming with life, and it plays an extremely important role in Arctic biodiversity, food webs, the recycling of nutrients back into the overlying water, and the long-term burial of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide as dead organic material.”

Biological markers Dr Claire Mahaffey, from the University of Liverpool and leader of the ARISE project, says the project is looking at how environmental change affects Arctic food webs. To do this, we will use novel biological markers or ‘biomarkers’ present in marine animals and plants that record changes occurring in their habitat.

“By measuring these in seals at the top of the food chain, and in phytoplankton and zooplankton at the base of the chain, we can gauge the extent to which the environment is responding to Arctic climate change. On this cruise, we are going to focus on the base of the food web, and we will be filtering lots of seawater to capture phytoplankton and zooplankton in the Barents Sea, she adds.

“The data we collect will contribute to larger datasets collected by our international collaborators across the Arctic. We will use the data in statistical and biogeochemical models to assess how much change has occurred in the food webs across the Arctic and the reasons for the change.”

Results of this vital research will be published, and to keep up to date with research the group has created this website www.changing-arctic-ocean.ac.uk. FE www.frontierenergy.info WINTER 2018 27

EVENTS, CONFERENCES & EXHIBITIONS /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

New perspectives on the world’s most challenging arena for maritime commerce April 17 – 20 Helsinki Congress Paasitorni Helsinki, Finland Organised by Informa Maritime this event will look at developing technological capabilities across the Arctic region, improving emergency response and working towards developing a sustainable future for shipping in the area. The impact of the Polar Code will also be examined, and the way insurers assess risk to ice-going vessels will be considered.

Discover the challenges LNG crews face working in ice-covered waters, hear about oil spill response, and discuss emergency preparedness, response and rescue planning for casualties in ice-covered waters. maritime.knect365.com /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

AIC 2018 – Transportation infrastructure engineering in cold regions May 1 – 3 Sisimiut, Greenland The ARTEK International Conference 2018 offers an opportunity for participants from the industry, the public sector, the science community and other stakeholders to present, discuss and exchange ideas and experience on how to plan, design, construct, operate and maintain transportation infrastructure in cold regions. www.uarctic.org /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Arctic Technology Conference November 5 – 7 Houston, Texas The Arctic Technology Conference (ATC) is built upon OTC’s successful multidisciplinary approach, with 14 technical societies and organizations working together to deliver the world’s most comprehensive Arctic event.

ATC is a highly focused, international conference on the cutting-edge technologies and innovative practices needed for exploration and production in the Arctic.

The deadline to submit an abstract for the Call for Papers is 13 March 2018. www.otcnet.org/arctic-technology-conference /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

TO ADVERTISE your event in the magazine, website or eNewsletter, please contact publisher@frontierenregy.info

28 WINTER 2018 www.frontierenergy.info

Interspill 2018 & Oceanology International March 13 – 18 Excel, London Interspill will look at potential issues to be raised from any future oil spills, including spill prevention, preparedness, response and restoration. The event will provide a unique platform for oil spill industry professionals, academia and government to meet, discuss and network. Co-located with Oceanology International, the Interspill conference and exhibition returns to London after a successful 2015 event in Amsterdam. oceanologyinternational.com interspillevent.com ECO2 – Arctic Climate Safety and Security March 26 – April 4 Finland, Norway and Sweden Organised by BioAcademy in Finland, this study tour is an opportunity to experience to learn about Arctic climate safety and security in three countries (Finland, Norway and Sweden). The course will provide practical examples of Nordic strategy on combating and adapting to climate change. www.bioacademy.fi 48th International Arctic Workshop 2018 April 4 – 6 University of Colorado at Boulder, Colorado, US Hosted by the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR), University of Colorado, the 2018 Arctic Workshop welcomes a community that includes all career stages – from student to distinguished world-class expert.

The Arctic Workshop is open to all interested in high latitude environments, including those of the past, present and future. www.instaar.colorado.edu/meeting s/AW2018 European Geosciences Union General Assembly April 8 – 13 Vienna, Austria The EGU General Assembly 2018 will bring together geoscientists from all over the world to one meeting covering all disciplines of the Earth, planetary and space sciences. The EGU aims to provide

a forum where scientists, especially early career researchers, can present their work and discuss their ideas with experts in all fields of geoscience. www.egu2018.eu OTC April 30 – May 3 One of the world’s longest running and largest events for the oil and gas industry, The Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) is where the world’s energy professionals meet to exchange ideas and opinions to advance scientific and technical knowledge for offshore resources and environmental matters.OTC is the largest global event for the oil and gas sector featuring approximately 2,000 exhibitors and attendees from across the globe. www.2018.otcnet.org/about POLAR2018 – A joint SCAR, IASC and ASSW conference June 15 – 26 Davos, Switzerland POLAR2018 is a joint event from the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research SCAR and the International Arctic Science Committee IASC. The SCAR meetings, the Arctic Science Summit Week and the Open Science Conference will take place in Davos, Switzerland. www.uarctic.org UArctic Congress 2018 September 3 – 7 Oulu and Helsinki, Finland Held in Finland, the UArctic (University of the Arctic) Congress 2018 will bring together key UArctic meetings and a science conference into one single gathering, including business meetings of the Council of UArctic, Rectors’ Forum, Student Forum, and Thematic Networks & UArctic Institutes Leadership Team.

The Congress is an integral part of the Finland’s Arctic Council chairmanship program, and is open to the public. The event will highlight the themes and priorities of the Finnish chairmanship, including the goals of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the Paris Agreement under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. http://www.eu-polarnet.eu

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