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The multifunctional rescue vessel "Baltika" of the innovative project R-70202 was built by the Baltic Shipyard "Yantar" OJSC (part of the United Shipbuilding Corporation OJSC) by order of the Federal Agency for Maritime and River Transport Russian Federation within the framework of the contract concluded on November 9, 2011.
Project R-70202 innovative icebreaker to combat emergency oil spills and rescue operations was developed by the Finnish company Aker Arctic Technology. The design feature of the vessel is an asymmetrical hull, equipped with three full-rotary rudder complexes with a total power of 7.5 MW. This allows the ship to move obliquely, creating a channel in the ice that is 2.5 times the width of its hull - up to 50 meters with a hull width of 20.5 meters. The vessel is capable of moving in flat ice one meter thick, and in the “oblique” mode it will be able to lay a channel 50 meters wide.
The vessel is designed to perform a wide range of rescue operations, both clean water, and in ice conditions, including the elimination of emergency oil spills. It will make navigation easier for ships during the winter months. The unusual hull and great maneuverability will allow the Baltika to pave the way for both small rescue ships and tankers.
According to the terms of the contract, Yantar Shipyard is the lead contractor for the order (production of hull blocks, painting), while Arctech Helsinki Shipyard Inc., Finland, acted as a subcontractor (hull formation, outfitting work, testing).
The keel was laid on the slipway of the Yantar Shipyard on June 6, 2012. In May 2013, work on the construction of the hull was completed, after which it was delivered for completion to the Russian-Finnish shipyard Arctech Helsinki Shipyard Oy in Finland. On December 12, 2013, the Baltika was launched. On the morning of March 6, 2014, she began sea trials, which lasted several days. The entire process of building the vessel took place with the participation of specialists from the Yantar Shipyard.
Transas Group supplied and commissioned an integrated navigation system own production, a set of navigation equipment, communications and video surveillance equipment, as well as equipment for helicopter takeoff and landing. All deck equipment installed under the contract had special requirements to ensure the systems operate in Arctic latitudes at temperatures of -40 degrees. C. In addition, the icebreaker is equipped with modern systems satellite communications, maximally meeting the high technical requirements requirements for equipment of multifunctional vessels of this class. According to a message dated April 08, 2015, equipped with a Navis Nav DP4000 dynamic positioning control system and a Navis AP4000 vessel heading control system (autopilot).
On May 21, 2014, the multifunctional rescue vessel "Baltika" of the innovative project R-70202 was delivered by two tugs from Helsinki to Kaliningrad to the Yantar shipyard. On May 30, 2014, the ship was accepted by the State Commission.
Multifunctional rescue vessel "Baltika" ("Baltika") IMO: 9649237, flag Russia, home port Big Port of St. Petersburg, was accepted by the state commission on May 30, 2014, construction number 508. Shipbuilder: PSZ "Yantar", Kaliningrad , Russia and Arctech Helsinki Shipyard, Helsinki, Finland. Owner: Rosmorrechflot, Russia. Operator: Federal Budgetary Institution "Gosmorspasluzhba of Russia". The construction cost amounted to 78 million euros.
Main characteristics: Tonnage 3800 tons, deadweight 1150 tons. Length 76.4 meters, beam 20.5 meters, draft 6.3 meters. Speed 14 knots, in flat ice 1 meter thick 3 knots. The power of three diesel generators is 7.5 MW. Crew 24 people. Accommodation for 12 special personnel is provided on board. Autonomy 20 days (for 24 people).
The icebreaker is equipped with special equipment for eliminating emergency oil spills, extinguishing fires, and environmental monitoring.
RS class symbol: KM✪ Icebreaker6 AUT1-ICS OMBO FF3WS EPP DYNPOS-1 ECO-S Oil recovery ship (>60°C)/ salvage ship/tug.
According to a report dated February 17, 2015, the multifunctional ice-class rescue vessel with an asymmetrical hull shape "Baltika" of the FBU "Marine Rescue Service of Rosmorrechflot" was included by experts of the Royal Society of Shipbuilding Engineers (Great Britain) in the annual list of the best ships built in 2014 under technical supervision Russian Maritime Register of Shipping. On February 20, 2015, the Russian Federation took place in St. Petersburg. According to a message dated April 2, which were held in the Kara Sea abeam about. Bely, in the area of the Ob Bay, as well as in the area of the port of Sabetta. During the ice tests, representatives of the design organization Aker Arctic Technology (Finland), the shipbuilding plant OJSC Baltic Shipyard Yantar, the Finnish shipyard Arctech Helsinki Shipyard and the State Customer Directorate were on board the vessel. April 11, after successfully completed ice tests, to perform emergency rescue duty. August 12, 2015 at sea. On board are participants of the unique maritime Arctic scientific-historical project of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug"Kara Expeditions". According to a message dated September 4, the participants of the “Kara Expedition 2015” aboard the multifunctional search vessel “Baltika” arrived at the port of Sabetta. The planned search and scientific programs of the expedition were completed in full. From October 6 to ensuring the implementation of commissioning work on the project “Arctic terminal for year-round oil shipment of the Novoportovskoye field.” On October 21, the Ka-32 helicopter was received for the first time at the ship’s helipad - specialists and necessary equipment to continue work at the Arctic loading terminal (ATP).
During the period from February 3 to February 4, 2016, on a ship under the leadership of the Deputy Director of the Baltic Branch for ASR and OSR S.M. Savelyev also worked on a set of tasks for emergency rescue readiness and readiness to eliminate emergency oil spills at the Cape Kamenny APT in the Gulf of Ob. According to a message dated March 11, in a comprehensive exercise at the Arctic terminal in the waters of the Gulf of Ob in the area of Cape Kamenny, located on the Yamal Peninsula, for the first time conducted by Gazpromneft-Yamal in the winter.
The unique rescue ship "Baltika" completed tests in the Arctic and arrived in Murmansk. The world's first asymmetric icebreaker is capable of extinguishing fires, collecting spilled oil and freeing ships from ice captivity. Ahead of Baltika are joint Russian-Norwegian exercises.
The first real baptism of Baltic ice took place in the Arctic. In the Kara Sea, the capabilities of the newest rescue vessel were once again tested. The result exceeded all our wildest expectations.
The multifunctional rescue ship "Baltika" was nicknamed the crooked ship. One side is straight, the other is convex. A non-standard case is not a defect, but precisely its main advantage. Thanks to the asymmetrical design feature, Baltika can move forward, backward, and even sideways.
You can clearly see how this happens from above. The ship is laying a channel two and a half times larger than its own width. Previously, only two icebreakers could penetrate such dimensions.
“We used an oblique passage in the ice. They also showed the best results. With a vessel width of 20 meters, it is capable of making a channel 50 meters wide,” explained the captain of the Baltika MFUSS Sergei Glibin.
A universal sea rescuer can put out fires and collect oil from the surface of the water. It is capable of freeing ships stuck in ice. Even a storm is not dangerous for Baltika. If necessary, the ship is ready to save people even in heavy seas - everything is provided for emergency assistance. There is a helipad and lifeboats.
“In terms of its speed and icebreaking qualities, it is a completely reliable icebreaker. It is worthy to work in the latitudes where we were,” notes Nikolai Dyakov, senior mechanic of the Baltika MFUSS.
The first innovative vessel of reinforced ice class is the result of joint efforts of shipbuilders from Kaliningrad and Helsinki. Both Russia and Finland are proud of this project. Nothing like this has ever been done in the world.
There is even not one captain's bridge, but two at once. However, both workplaces are equally comfortable. For additional workplace you can cross if the ship is moving obliquely. From here the captain will be able to assess the ice conditions much better.
And if necessary, Baltika can move without human intervention. Smart electronics and completely autonomous control systems will help. The maneuverability of the vessel is ensured by powerful propellers that move at the command of miniature joysticks.
“It doesn’t have propeller shafts like ships used to have, it has three rudder propellers. Two at the stern, one in the bow,” says Dmitry Smirnov, First Deputy Head of the Rosmorrechflot Marine Rescue Service, about the design features of the vessel.
In early June, the ship will depart for joint Russian-Norwegian exercises.
In the meantime, the Baltika moored next to the first Soviet nuclear icebreaker"Lenin", which has long been turned into a museum. From the deck of the legendary past there is a good view of the promising present.
Secondly, the ability to sail semi-sideways in the ice, which gives an almost twice as wide channel, 50 instead of 25 meters for a conventional icebreaker of similar dimensions. The 50-meter canal allows commercial vessels to pass freely. For oblique movement there is a second bridge.
The P-70202 project, an innovative icebreaker for oil spill response and rescue operations, was developed by the Finnish company Aker Arctic Technology. The icebreaker was created in two stages. They were laid down in June 2012 at the Kaliningrad Yantar, then, a year later, the main parts were transported to Finland to Arctech Helsinki Shipyard for assembly. The first tests took place at the beginning of 2014, and in May it was accepted by the state commission.
The icebreaker is equipped with special equipment for eliminating emergency oil spills, extinguishing fires, and environmental monitoring. It is capable of moving in flat ice 1 m thick. The length of the vessel is 76.4 m, width - 20.5 m, draft - 6.3 m, power of three diesel generators - 7.5 MW, speed - 14 knots, speed at flat ice 1 m thick - 3 knots. The total is 7.5 MW. Crew - 24 people, special personnel - 12 people, autonomy - 20 days (24 people).
somehow strangely associated with this snow blower:
Rescue ship "Baltika" - asymmetry is not a vice
Baltika is not an ordinary project. Initially, when construction of the vessel had just begun, some spoke of it with a bit of irony, mainly due to the fact that the term asymmetrical was often confused with the word “crooked” or “oblique,” which is not very close to the truth. And in fact, this asymmetry itself became business card project.
“A competition has been announced for the skewed captain”
(commentary to the Newsland news)
“And it will always be driven by a “crooked” crew”
(comments to the news “Military Industrial Complex News”)
“If the ship looks like a freak, then it will be operated like a freak! The lesson of “popovoks” did not go well (or maybe modern Internet designers have never heard anything about them).”
(commentary to the news "Korabel.ru")
They gradually stopped making fun of the design of the icebreaker when photographs and videos appeared on the Internet, in which one can clearly see that the ship is not just another “myth”, but the very real reality. But shipbuilders and simply interested people found another reason to lament and make fun of the domestic shipbuilding industry. However, this is more likely not discontent and aggression, but an ordinary statement of fact with a slight dose of sadness and self-irony - they say, although the Baltika is ours, it was only built by the Finns. And no excuses regarding the supply of body parts with domestic enterprises and the excessive workload of the shipyards of our country, those advocating Russian shipbuilding cannot be pacified.
Thus, at the “Russian Shipbuilding” conference, which was held in St. Petersburg in April 2014, the head of TsNIIMF CJSC Sergei Buyanov noted in his welcoming speech that the Baltika is certainly a unique ship of its kind, but still “I would like such ships to be built at our domestic factories”.
Rescue vessel "Baltika" / Russian Maritime Register of Shipping
But be that as it may, this is a topic for a separate discussion, and the new icebreaking vessel is almost ready to work “at one hundred percent.” And those who were present at the sea trials were personally able to see that the slightly non-standard approach to design still became a kind of breakthrough.
And although the project has only now received its material embodiment, as we were told by Aker Arktic, which is the developer of the Baltika project, the idea of an asymmetrical icebreaker was born in the late 90s, when the requirements for icebreaker support for the Baltic Sea fleet were analyzed.
By the end of 1996, the idea of creating a lag-moving icebreaker was developed, and in 1997 the first model tests of the ARC 100 project took place. “Later, a decision was made to build an oil terminal in Primorsk. That’s when the idea came up to use the vessel to combat oil spills.”, - the company reported.
Further work on the development of the project continued in cooperation with the Maritime Administration of Finland, the Finnish Environmental Institute and ABB, with partial financing of the work by the Technology Fund of Finland. As a result, the updated project was presented to the administrations of Finland and Russia in 2003. The Russian Ministry of Transport placed an order for the construction of the vessel when the contract was signed in 2011.
In general, a ship similar to the Baltika could have been built even earlier. Sales Director Arto Uuskallio spoke about this when “Korabel” visited “Aker Arktic” (see article “Shipbuilding in Finland. Part 2: “Aker Arctic” - “It is difficult to prove the advantages of an innovative approach”): “We had the opportunity to implement this idea earlier, but the Customer then last moment preferred the traditional concept of the vessel. This is an advanced development, and conservative thinking is professed in shipbuilding. It is difficult to prove the benefits of an innovative approach".
“In general, the emergence of such a project was a kind of response to the increase in the number of tanker traffic in the Gulf of Finland”,” notes Aker Arktic. The asymmetrical icebreaker is a continuation of the tradition of using the method of moving stern first in ice on ships. In practice, the Baltika, by moving forward at an angle to the center plane, makes a channel 50 meters wide, replaces the work of two icebreakers.
Aker Arktic has patented the idea of an asymmetrical hull. There are no analogues in the world, the project developers note. And Baltika is the first ship built according to the ARC 100 project. “The project has now been expanded to a strengthened version designed for more severe operating conditions in the Arctic”, - the company reported.
“The secret to the uniqueness of creating a vessel concept lies in an integrated approach to solving problems. This is a multifunctional icebreaking vessel. It is ideal for year-round emergency duty for oil spill response, escort operations, emergency towing, firefighting and monitoring. environment» , noted the Finnish company.
The vessel is equipped with a diesel-electric installation with three azimuth propellers - one of the devices is located in the bow, the second in the stern and the third on the side of the hull. This solution provides effective work of the vessel when moving bow, stern and lag. Also, Baltika’s operation is supported by thrusters with a total power of 7.5 MW. The salvage vessel has a double bottom, a continuous main deck and tween deck, and a forecastle. Superstructure with residential and office premises located in the bow of the Baltika.
The vessel is capable of moving in flat ice 1 m thick both bow and stern forward and at an angle, laying a channel up to 50 m wide in flat ice 60 cm thick. For comparison, according to some data, the diesel-electric icebreakers "Moscow" and "St. -Petersburg can make a channel 28 m, and the 25 MW icebreaker Project 22600, being built at the Baltic Shipyard, can make a 29 m channel. It is worth noting that the Baltika engines can run on fuel with low sulfur content, and this is especially important with from an environmental efficiency point of view.
“The ship uses new principles for collecting oil spills: the port opens and collects oil while the ship is moving, and then in special compartments, using brush collectors, the oil is separated from the water and can be reloaded onto assembly vessels.”, - said Sergey Shishkin, head of the RS classification department. Such a system works even with significant sea waves.
The rest of the equipment of the icebreaker, as noted in the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping, also represents the most modern models that meet current and future requirements for safety, environmental and energy efficiency, and ergonomics. It’s not for nothing that the Baltika is called a multifunctional vessel - it is capable of performing several tasks at once: conducting icebreaking operations in ports and port waters, towing ships and floating objects, piloting ships, cleaning up emergency oil and oil product spills, extinguishing fires, environmental monitoring and emergency response. rescue operations. For this, the vessel has all the necessary equipment: a helipad, a crane with a lifting capacity of 25 tons for cargo operations, equipment for collecting oil products and lowering/raising a work boat.
The customer of the vessel was Federal agency sea and river transport of Russia. It's no secret that the order for the construction of Baltika was sent to the Yantar Shipyard. The plant signed a contract on November 9, 2011. The keel of the vessel took place on June 6, 2012. The Finnish shipyard Arctech Helsinki Shipyard Inc. acted as a subcontractor of the plant. Thus, Kaliningrad shipbuilders were engaged in the manufacture of hull blocks, and the Finns were engaged in the formation of the hull, outfitting work and carried out tests.
Today, few can say that the project was a failure. Although, only shipyard workers and those specialists who were present at the tests saw it in action, and even then not in ice conditions. But this is still ahead. Next winter, all “opponents” and “defenders” of the unusual project will be able to find out whether Baltika will cope with its “icebreaking” task or not. According to Sergei Shishkin: “ The real baptism of ice will take place during the next winter navigation in the Gulf of Finland, and we hope that the vessel will confirm its design characteristics.”. As noted by the head of the R-70202 project, Igor Zubakov, who was quoted by the press service of the Yantar plant, during tests at sea the vessel showed excellent performance characteristics and high maneuverability, which means the customer will be satisfied.
The vessel will be handed over to the customer in St. Petersburg. It is planned that the icebreaker will operate in the Baltic. However, among other things, the ship’s crew still needs to be prepared for work. "Baltika" is more difficult to navigate than a regular ship and requires special training. Since large shipping companies have expressed interest in the project, a computer training model has already been created at the Helsinki Maritime Institute for future navigators of such ships.”, - notes the head of the RS classification department.
In the end, I would like to note that perhaps Baltika will not be the only one asymmetrical icebreaker. Moreover, as they said in the company that developed the project, there is certainly interest in this vessel. “Now this ship is talked about at every conference on Arctic and maritime topics. Sea trials not only confirmed expectations, but also turned out to be better. Now it’s very interesting to find out how the ship will behave in ice,”- noted the press service of Aker Arktic.
Asymmetrical icebreaker "Baltika" / Photo: www.popmech.ru
The asymmetrical icebreaker turned out to be somewhat better than traditional “ice crushers.”
Shipbuilders like to speculate that their field of mechanical engineering is one of the most conservative. However, from the outside, everything seems to be the opposite - there are all kinds of ships: catamarans, trimarans, hydrofoils, hovercraft, with sails, with outboard engines. Even ekranoplanes are classified as ships. Therefore, the words of the sales director of the Finnish company Aker Arctic Arto Uuskallio that shipbuilding professes conservative thinking and it is difficult to prove the advantages of an innovative approach did not evoke the proper response in us.
Asymmetrical icebreaker "Baltika" / Image: www.popmech.ru
True, Artaud spoke not just about ships, but about icebreakers, unusual ships, which have many things that are different from their brothers. For example, they move equally well both bow and stern forward, and the thickest ice passes just astern. There are only two companies in the world with a powerful research base that invent and develop new icebreaker concepts: the St. Petersburg Krylov State Research Center and the Finnish company Aker Arctic. But it was the Finns who, in 1996, came up with the idea of a new icebreaker capable of working bow or stern forward, as well as at an angle to the centreline. The idea was tested using a conventional icebreaker, which was pulled by a lag. The test results were positive, and at the end of 1996 a new triangular hull shape was developed. And in 1997, the idea of an icebreaker operating at an angle won an innovation prize from the Norwegian giant Kvaerner, which, by the way, made offshore platform for the space project "Sea Launch".
Triangular icebreaker
However, the project stalled - there were no orders for the triangular icebreaker. The Scandinavians refined the idea: in 2002, they decided to use the asymmetrical hull shape not only for breaking ice, but also for combating oil spills and conducting rescue operations at sea. The convex left side was adapted for breaking ice, and the flat right side was intended for collecting oil. It didn’t matter to the new icebreaker which way to sail - three asymmetrically located rotary rudder columns were designed for it, one of which was located in the bow. The result was a multifunctional rescue icebreaker vessel, but no one needed it either.
But then, fortunately for the Finns, our relations with the Baltic states began to worsen, and Russian government a decision was made to redirect cargo flows from Baltic ports to Russian ones - in particular, to Primorsk - the most modern commercial sea port in the Baltic, capable of receiving ships with a displacement of up to 150,000 tons with a maximum draft that can enter the Baltic Sea from the ocean. (Due to the limited depths in the Danish Straits, supertankers cannot enter the Baltic.) This option is good for everyone, except for one thing: Primorsk is located significantly north of the Baltic ports, and its waters must be cleared of ice in winter. When transporting tankers to the port on ice, a channel about 50 m wide is needed, which requires two traditional icebreakers. This is where the Finnish idea came in handy - an asymmetrical icebreaker could lay channels 50 m wide in one pass, moving “sideways forward”. In October 2011, a contract was signed between the Russian Maritime and River Transport Agency, the Kaliningrad Baltic Shipyard Yantar and the Finnish Arctech Helsinki Shipyard, and in the spring of 2014 the world's first asymmetric icebreaker, called Baltika, was launched.
Movement diagram of the icebreaker "Baltika" / Image: www.popmech.ru
Jack of all trades
The Baltika is not a specialized icebreaker, but a multifunctional vessel capable of extinguishing fires, collecting oil after emergency spills, and rescuing both people and ships. The vessel has a standard built-in system of brush collectors, with the help of which oil is separated from water. The vertical side of the vessel acts as a cleaning barrier, which directs oily waters onto the vessel through the port. The oil is collected in holding tanks, and the purified water is pumped back into the sea. The ship has a helipad for evacuation operations, equipment for firefighting and towing. Thanks to three rotary rudders, the Baltika has unique maneuverability and, as a port tug, can give a hundred points ahead to traditional tugs. Well, it clears the ice in the port waters no worse than a real janitor. According to Igor Zubakov, who is leading the Baltika construction project at the Yantar plant, the ship is capable of moving as desired: forward, backward, with a log at an angle of 90°. Tests have shown that the most optimal option is when the Baltika turns its hull 30-40° from the course and moves stern forward. On thin ice, up to half a meter, the ship calmly turns on the spot and breaks the ice with its bow. As Igor Zubakov says, the asymmetrical body has significantly expanded its capabilities. For example, a ship is capable of turning around on the spot, although “classically” icebreakers turn in a “star” pattern.
In fact, the seven-megawatt Baltika, designed for the Baltic Sea, turned out to be a trial balloon for a new icebreaker design. And quite successful. Aker Arctic is now actively offering potential customers an asymmetrical powerful 25-megawatt icebreaker already for work in the Arctic. It is quite possible that he will also receive registration in our country. Such powerful ice, like ours, we still need to look.
Secondly, the ability to sail semi-sideways in the ice, which gives an almost twice as wide channel, 50 instead of 25 meters for a conventional icebreaker of similar dimensions. The 50-meter canal allows commercial vessels to pass freely. For oblique movement there is a second bridge.
The P-70202 project, an innovative icebreaker for oil spill response and rescue operations, was developed by the Finnish company Aker Arctic Technology. The icebreaker was created in two stages. They were laid down in June 2012 at the Kaliningrad Yantar, then, a year later, the main parts were transported to Finland to Arctech Helsinki Shipyard for assembly. The first tests took place at the beginning of 2014, and in May it was accepted by the state commission.
The icebreaker is equipped with special equipment for eliminating emergency oil spills, extinguishing fires, and environmental monitoring. It is capable of moving in flat ice 1 m thick. The length of the vessel is 76.4 m, width - 20.5 m, draft - 6.3 m, power of three diesel generators - 7.5 MW, speed - 14 knots, speed at flat ice 1 m thick - 3 knots. The total is 7.5 MW. Crew - 24 people, special personnel - 12 people, autonomy - 20 days (24 people).
somehow strangely associated with this snow blower:
Rescue ship "Baltika" - asymmetry is not a vice
Baltika is not an ordinary project. Initially, when construction of the vessel had just begun, some spoke of it with a bit of irony, mainly due to the fact that the term asymmetrical was often confused with the word “crooked” or “oblique,” which is not very close to the truth. And in fact, this asymmetry itself became the calling card of the project.
“A competition has been announced for the skewed captain”
(commentary to the Newsland news)
“And it will always be driven by a “crooked” crew”
(comments to the news “Military Industrial Complex News”)
“If the ship looks like a freak, then it will be operated like a freak! The lesson of “popovoks” did not go well (or maybe modern Internet designers have never heard anything about them).”
(commentary to the news "Korabel.ru")
They gradually stopped making fun of the design of the icebreaker when photographs and videos appeared on the Internet, in which one can clearly see that the ship is not just another “myth”, but the very real reality. But shipbuilders and simply interested people found another reason to lament and make fun of the domestic shipbuilding industry. However, this is more likely not discontent and aggression, but an ordinary statement of fact with a slight dose of sadness and self-irony - they say, although the Baltika is ours, it was only built by the Finns. And no excuses about the supply of hull parts from domestic enterprises and the excessive workload of the shipyards of our country will pacify those advocating Russian shipbuilding.
Thus, at the “Russian Shipbuilding” conference, which was held in St. Petersburg in April 2014, the head of TsNIIMF CJSC Sergei Buyanov noted in his welcoming speech that the Baltika is certainly a unique ship of its kind, but still “I would like such ships to be built at our domestic factories”.
Rescue vessel "Baltika" / Russian Maritime Register of Shipping
But be that as it may, this is a topic for a separate discussion, and the new icebreaking vessel is almost ready to work “at one hundred percent.” And those who were present at the sea trials were personally able to see that the slightly non-standard approach to design still became a kind of breakthrough.
And although the project has only now received its material embodiment, as we were told by Aker Arktic, which is the developer of the Baltika project, the idea of an asymmetrical icebreaker was born in the late 90s, when the requirements for icebreaker support for the Baltic Sea fleet were analyzed.
By the end of 1996, the idea of creating a lag-moving icebreaker was developed, and in 1997 the first model tests of the ARC 100 project took place. “Later, a decision was made to build an oil terminal in Primorsk. That’s when the idea came up to use the vessel to combat oil spills.”, - the company reported.
Further work on the development of the project continued in cooperation with the Maritime Administration of Finland, the Finnish Environmental Institute and ABB, with partial financing of the work by the Technology Fund of Finland. As a result, the updated project was presented to the administrations of Finland and Russia in 2003. The Russian Ministry of Transport placed an order for the construction of the vessel when the contract was signed in 2011.
In general, a ship similar to the Baltika could have been built even earlier. Sales Director Arto Uuskallio spoke about this when “Korabel” visited “Aker Arktic” (see article “Shipbuilding in Finland. Part 2: “Aker Arctic” - “It is difficult to prove the advantages of an innovative approach”): “We had the opportunity to implement this idea earlier, but at the last moment the Customer preferred the traditional concept of the vessel. This is an advanced development, and conservative thinking is professed in shipbuilding. It is difficult to prove the benefits of an innovative approach".
“In general, the emergence of such a project was a kind of response to the increase in the number of tanker traffic in the Gulf of Finland”,” notes Aker Arktic. The asymmetrical icebreaker is a continuation of the tradition of using the method of moving stern first in ice on ships. In practice, the Baltika, by moving forward at an angle to the center plane, makes a channel 50 meters wide, replaces the work of two icebreakers.
Aker Arktic has patented the idea of an asymmetrical hull. There are no analogues in the world, the project developers note. And Baltika is the first ship built according to the ARC 100 project. “The project has now been expanded to a strengthened version designed for more severe operating conditions in the Arctic”, - the company reported.
“The secret to the uniqueness of creating a vessel concept lies in an integrated approach to solving problems. This is a multifunctional icebreaking vessel. It is ideal for year-round emergency duty for oil spill response, escort operations, emergency towing, firefighting and environmental monitoring.", noted the Finnish company.
The vessel is equipped with a diesel-electric installation with three azimuth propellers - one of the devices is located in the bow, the second in the stern and the third on the side of the hull. This solution ensures efficient operation of the vessel when moving bow, stern and log. Also, Baltika’s operation is supported by thrusters with a total power of 7.5 MW. The salvage vessel has a double bottom, a continuous main deck and tween deck, and a forecastle. The superstructure with residential and service premises is located in the bow of the Baltika.
The vessel is capable of moving in flat ice 1 m thick both bow and stern forward and at an angle, laying a channel up to 50 m wide in flat ice 60 cm thick. For comparison, according to some data, the diesel-electric icebreakers "Moscow" and "St. -Petersburg can make a channel 28 m, and the 25 MW icebreaker Project 22600, being built at the Baltic Shipyard, can make a 29 m channel. It is worth noting that the Baltika engines can run on fuel with low sulfur content, and this is especially important with from an environmental efficiency point of view.
“The ship uses new principles for collecting oil spills: the port opens and collects oil while the ship is moving, and then in special compartments, using brush collectors, the oil is separated from the water and can be reloaded onto assembly vessels.”, - said Sergey Shishkin, head of the RS classification department. Such a system works even with significant sea waves.
The rest of the equipment of the icebreaker, as noted in the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping, also represents the most modern models that meet current and future requirements for safety, environmental and energy efficiency, and ergonomics. It’s not for nothing that the Baltika is called a multifunctional vessel - it is capable of performing several tasks at once: conducting icebreaking operations in ports and port waters, towing ships and floating objects, piloting ships, cleaning up emergency oil and oil product spills, extinguishing fires, environmental monitoring and emergency response. rescue operations. For this, the vessel has all the necessary equipment: a helipad, a crane with a lifting capacity of 25 tons for cargo operations, equipment for collecting oil products and lowering/raising a work boat.
The customer of the vessel was the Federal Agency for Maritime and River Transport of Russia. It's no secret that the order for the construction of Baltika was sent to the Yantar Shipyard. The plant signed a contract on November 9, 2011. The keel of the vessel took place on June 6, 2012. The Finnish shipyard Arctech Helsinki Shipyard Inc. acted as a subcontractor of the plant. Thus, Kaliningrad shipbuilders were engaged in the manufacture of hull blocks, and the Finns were engaged in the formation of the hull, outfitting work and carried out tests.
Today, few can say that the project was a failure. Although, only shipyard workers and those specialists who were present at the tests saw it in action, and even then not in ice conditions. But this is still ahead. Next winter, all “opponents” and “defenders” of the unusual project will be able to find out whether Baltika will cope with its “icebreaking” task or not. According to Sergei Shishkin: “ The real baptism of ice will take place during the next winter navigation in the Gulf of Finland, and we hope that the vessel will confirm its design characteristics.”. As noted by the head of the R-70202 project, Igor Zubakov, who was quoted by the press service of the Yantar plant, during tests at sea the vessel showed excellent performance characteristics and high maneuverability, which means the customer will be satisfied.
The vessel will be handed over to the customer in St. Petersburg. It is planned that the icebreaker will operate in the Baltic. However, among other things, the ship’s crew still needs to be prepared for work. "Baltika" is more difficult to navigate than a regular ship and requires special training. Since large shipping companies have expressed interest in the project, a computer training model has already been created at the Helsinki Maritime Institute for future navigators of such ships.”, - notes the head of the RS classification department.
In the end, I would like to note that perhaps the Baltika will not be the only asymmetric icebreaker. Moreover, as they said in the company that developed the project, there is certainly interest in this vessel. “Now this ship is talked about at every conference on Arctic and maritime topics. Sea trials not only confirmed expectations, but also turned out to be better. Now it’s very interesting to find out how the ship will behave in ice,”- noted the press service of Aker Arktic.
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