Safewin - an EU project on Safety of Winter Navigation in Dynamic Ice

The present project aims to develope an efficient ice compression and ice dynamics forecasting system – which is precisely aimed in increasing the safety of winter navigation in dynamic ice conditions. This system is particularly efficient in case of large, AFRAMAX size or larger, oil tankers navigating in the Baltic, Okhotsk Sea and also in the western Russian Arctic. These tankers include a large parallel midbody and a hull form that is not especially suitable for ice breaking. A hull rupture of these tankers in compressive ice would lead to catastrophic consequences in the Baltic.

Further, the Baltic icebreaking system including the ice services are now responding to the increased tanker traffic to and from the Russian terminals in the eastern Baltic. Similar change is likely to occur in the Okhotsk Sea, Russian western Arctic and possibly also in the White Sea. In developing ice service products applicable in these new sea areas, the present project contributes towards topics safety of ice navigation.

Finally, it has been the observation of the Finnish and Swedish icebreaker services that the crews of the ice strengthened vessels do not have the necessary experience for winter navigation. The Baltic Icebreaker Management (BIM, see www.baltice.org) is making every effort to increase the awareness for winter operations and ice conditions – also awareness about the ice service products. A timely, easily comprehended, standardized and homogenized operational advice and ice navigation in a form of ice charts and ice forecasts will reduce the risk of human error in interpreting ice conditions and selecting a route through ice.

Project also aims to understand the effect of ship structures onto risk of compressive ice damages. This knowledge will be used then to redesign some parts of the structure so to achieve the best possible damage resistance with reduction in structural weight.

Objectives