Recent Development of Offshore Engineering in Cold Regions, Yue (ed.

)
POAC-07, Dalian, China, June 27-30, 2007.
@ 2007 Dalian University of Technology Press, Dalian, ISBN 978-7-5611-3631-7

ICE TRIALS OF MV NORILSKIY NICKEL IN MARCH 2006

Göran Wilkman1, Mikko Elo1, Lars Lönnberg1 and Jouko Kunnari2

（1.Aker Arctic Technology, Helsinki, Finland;
2.Aker Yards, Helsinki, Finland）

ABSTRACT

The first generation of vessels built for trade from Dudinka, Yenisei River, carrying
mining products to the market were built in the early eighties. That time there were
two series of vessels namely, Dimitry Donskoy - class (UL) and Norilsk- class (ULA).

In 2003 the Shipping company of Norilsk Nickel approached Aker Arctic Technology
Inc. (then Kvaerner Masa-Yards Arctic Technology) in order to develop the next
generation transport system for more independent ice operation.
In August of 2004 the building contact of the prototype vessels was signed with Aker
Yards Finland (former Kvaerner Masa-Yards) for delivery in March 2006.This paper
describes the results and findings during the ice trials in the Kara Sea and Gulf of
Yenisey in March 2006 on one return trip from Murmansk to Yenisey River.
MV Norilskiy Nickel has been designed to transport mining products from Dudinka
(Yenisey River) to the market (Murmansk) independently without icebreaker support.
The vessel is equipped with diesel electric propulsion with one 13MW podded
azimuth thruster (Azipod).
The design of the vessel follows the principles of Aker Arctic’s Double Acting Ship
Concept, were the vessel is designed to be run ahead and astern in somewhat different
conditions. Norilskiy Nickel has been designed to operate in level ice and pack ice to
run both ahead and astern. In heavy ridges the vessel is designed to operate mainly
running astern. Ice trials were performed in Kara Sea and Gulf of Yenisey during the
second half of March 2006. The tests included the following:
y level ice

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y old brash ice channel
y maneuvering
y transit through Kara Sea
After the successful ice trials the vessel was officially delivered to the owner in April
2006. In July 2006 the continuation of the series (4 units + one option) were ordered
from Aker Yards Germany.

DE/V NORILSKIY NICKEL

DE/V Norilskiy Nickel is a Container/General Cargo Ship designed for year round
operation in Arctic regions, including calls at Siberian river estuaries. The vessel is
able to navigate independently without icebreaker assistance on the planned route.
The hull form is adapted to the DAS (Double Acting Ship) operating concept, i.e. the
stern lines are optimised for effective ice operation, while the bow form is designed
for good ice performance in light and medium ice conditions.
The diesel electric power plant enables the ship to operate with full shaft power in
severe ice conditions, as well as in open water with reduced economical shaft power.
The ship is designed to operate in heavy ice conditions with all three main engines
running, while sailing in open water only two engines are in use and still reaching the
service speed of 16 knots.
Propulsion and steering is provided with a single ABB Azipod rudder propeller unit
giving the ship an excellent manoeuvring capability. HFO tank capacity is 2600 m3 to
secure independent operation or even sail through the whole Northern Sea Route.
Hull and machinery are dimensioned to obtain the Russian Maritime Register of
Shipping ice class notation LU7. The ship has double hull in the cargo hold area, as
well as in the main engine room. Norilskiy Nickel operates with different draught in
open water conditions and when icebreaking. The reason for this is due to reduce the
extent of hull strengthening area, the hull form encounters better the ice sails and
more demanding damage stability criterions from ice damages. The RMRS, good, but
demanding damage stability regulations require deterministic and probabilistic
calculations, both for normal damages and ice damages. This produced a relatively
large number of side ballast tanks in cargo hold area.
Norilskiy Nickel flies a Russian flag, thus fulfilling the Russian national rules
including sanitary- and safety regulations.
There are three box shaped main cargo holds with tween decks and one smaller hold
at the bow for carrying of dangerous cargo. The special tailored tween deck hatch
covers are hydraulically operated. Normal TEU containers are stowed in holds in 7

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rows and 5 tiers. On the weather deck hatch covers 3 tiers are stacked. Heavy, 30 ton,
10 feet long ‘feinstein’ containers can be loaded on tank top two tiers and on tween
deck one tier. Containers with height of only 4 feet are used for transporting of nickel
plates. The ship has 694 slots for these special 19.3 ton gross weight containers. The
ship is also able to transport general cargo and solid bulk cargos. The tank top is
dimensioned for evenly distributed load of 13 t/m2 and the tween deck tolerates 4.5
t/m2. The ship has no cargo cranes, but hull structures are already strengthened at
chosen locations for future installation.
Because the ship will sail in very cold areas the design temperature was set for -50°C.
This was very challenging for material selections, systems and equipments.
Arctic specialities had to be taken into account with ballast tank heating, engine room
temperatures, turbo charge air, sea chests, air conditioning, thermal insulation of the
accommodation block etc.
The T-shaped deckhouse is located in the aft. Two funnels are standing on the sides.
The ‘hat’ of the T is supporting bridge wings. The bridge arrangement includes
consoles both forward and aft. Good visibility at aft console is provided for surveying
of traffic, checking of ice conditions and avoiding ice ridges.
The ship has 18 single cabins for crew. In addition, there are three double cabins and
one cabin for the pilot. For crew relaxation there is a large day room separated from
the mess, gym, sauna and a seawater swimming pool.
The main parameters of the vessel are in Table 1 and side view in Fig. 1.

Table 1 MV norilskiy nickel, main parameters

main dimensions capacities machinery

LENGTH over all 169.50 m DWT, ice wl 14 928 ton ME TYPE 3xW12V32
BREADTH 23.10 m DWT, swl 18 486 ton TOTAL POWER 18000 kW
DRAUGHT dwl 9.00 m TEU containers 648 pcs PROPULSION POWER
(POD) 13000 kW
DRAUGHT swl 10.00 m Life saving appl. 25 pers. SERVICE SPEED 16.1 kn
HEIGHT bhd deck 14.20 m

The Double Acting container Ship MV Norilskiy Nickel was built at Aker Yards
Helsinki Shipyard. The final delivery took place after the successful full-scale tests in
April 2006.

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 Fig. 1 Side view of MV Norilskiy Nickel

TEST PLAN & ARRANGEMENTS

The ice trials were done during one return trip from Murmansk to Yenisey River.
The main objectives of the full-scale ice tests were to confirm the performance of the
vessel in 1.5 m thick level ice (σf = 600 kPa) as stated in the shipbuilding contract.
All other conditions except level ice were left to lower priority due to limited time for
the voyage.
During this first voyage through Kara Sea to Yenisey River the vessel was still
registered in Finland and thus the responsible crew was a Finnish one and the Russian
crew was onboard as well to learn the operability of the vessel.

VOYAGE
The ice trial voyage was performed during the period from 14 to 26 March. The route
is shown in Fig. 2.
MV Norilskiy Nickel sailed out from Murmansk in the evening of 14 March and
headed east, towards Kara Gate.
The ice edge was encountered west from Kara Gate around longitude 56º E. The
vessel arrived in Kara Gate in the evening of 16 March, where the nuclear icebreaker
Yamal was waiting. NIB Yamal was assigned for the trip according to the present
rules of the Northern Sea Route.

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 Fig. 2 Voyage Route

The route followed a direct line from Kara Gate to Beliy Island (north of Yamal
Peninsula) and then towards Gulf of Yenisey. During the transit across Kara Sea the
vessel followed NIB Yamal, as there was the need to get to the Gulf of Yenisey as
soon as possible. The transit speed when following the icebreaker in channel varied
between 10 and 14 knots. In Kara Sea the level ice thickness in floes was 40-60 cm.
In the evening of 18 March NIB Yamal got the convoy into a heavy ridge field
outside Dikson (south-west), some 5 nautical miles east of the Yenisey channel. This
was the end of assistance (shallow water). Norilskiy Nickel continued alone through
the ridge field running astern with a speed of 1~2 knots and reached the Yenisey
channel in some 5 hours. The vessel continued southwards to the test area in the
frozen channel running both astern and ahead. The average speed in the channel was
6-8 knots.
The vessel returned along the Yenisey channel after the level ice tests, which were
performed on 20 March at a shallow water spot some 200 NM up the River Yenisey.
On 22 March some additional tests in an ice field north-east of Dikson were made.
After these tests the vessel met with NIB Yamal. This time it was decided that
Norilskiy Nickel should operate independently and Yamal followed the vessel on the
way back to Murmansk.
After heading to west towards Beliy Island the speed of the vessel moving without
icebreaker assistance was 5 to 14 knots in variable ice conditions. The vessel sailed
southwards in a polynya with open water/thin ice along the west coast of Yamal
Peninsula. In the southern Kara Sea the vessel was turned to west towards Yugorskiy
Shar and a heavily ridged ice field was encountered. The vessel penetrated
independently through the ridge field running slowly astern.
In the evening of 24 March the vessel reached Yugorskiy Shar, where a smooth c. 70
cm thick level ice field was found. After sailing through the Shar still some ice was

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encountered in the Pechora Sea before the open water leg to Murmansk, where the
vessel arrived in the afternoon of 26 March.

MEASUREMENTS

Data from the ship system was recorded on a computer. This information includes the
parameters listed in Table 2.
Also during the tests ship’s speed was measured using a stop watch and sighting
poles. The poles are installed on a lower deck and when ice blocks pass the first pole
the watch is turned on and stopped as the ice block passes the second pole. The
projected distance on ice gives the distance travelled during the time measured.
Table 2 Measured quantities

Ship position Propeller rpm

Ship speed Propulsion motor power
Course Propulsion motor torque
Heading Azipod angle
Rate of turn Water depth below keel

The Azipod unit was also instrumented to measure the global loads on the Azipod
body, loads on shaft bearings, relative shaft movements and vibration accelerations in
long term. The results from these measurements are not presented here. The long-
term measurements (two years) also include the parameters listed in Table 2.
The ice measurements consist of ice thickness and ice property measurements. Ice
thickness was measured from the edge of the ships own channel. The flexural strength
was defined from ice samples through ice temperature and salinity using brine
volume curves. Also two beams were cut from the surface of the 1.5 m ice in the Gulf
of Yenisey.

TESTS

The following tests were run with the ship:

In transit:
ƒ various conditions behind the icebreaker
ƒ travelling alone, astern and ahead in various conditions
ƒ turning circle tests
In Gulf of Yenisey and other areas:
ƒ starting test in level ice ahead and astern

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 ƒ level ice astern and ahead speed tests
ƒ breaking out from channel test
Onboard measurements contained basically ship performance related data and ice
property measurements contained mainly ice thickness measurements. Ice samples
were also taken to determine the flexural strength of ice through temperature and
salinity. In addition limited beam tests were done.

Performance in Transit Through the Kara Sea

The transit speed of MV Norilskiy Nickel following the icebreaker in the channel in
various ice conditions varied between 10 and 14 knots. In the middle of the Kara Sea
the vessel was travelling alone for 5-6 nautical miles both ahead and astern. In both
running modes a 180 degree turning circle was done. In the Kara Sea the basic ice
thickness in floes was 40~60 cm. The main results of the transit performance are in
table 2.

Table 2 Transit performance of MV Norilskiy Nickel

Ice condition Operation mode P V Distance

MW kn travelled
Mixed ice, small ridges, level ice behind NIB Yamal 8-10 10-14
0.5m
Mixed ice, small ridges, level ice alone running ahead 12,6 11,9 5,8 NM
0.5m
Mixed ice, small ridges, level ice turning 180 degrees ahead 12,6 x dia
0.5m 1000m
Mixed ice, small ridges, level ice alone running astern 13 9,8 5 NM
0.5m
Mixed ice, small ridges, level ice turning 180 degrees astern 13 x dia 400m
0.5m
Ridge field, thickness 5-8m running astern 13 1-2 5 NM

Ice conditions during transit are shown in Fig. 3~ Fig.6.

The return voyage from the Gulf of Yenisey was done in reverse order: MV Norilskiy
Nickel was travelling alone and NIB Yamal was following in 1~2 mile distance. Most
of the voyage was rather easy, but in the south Kara Sea the sailing was blocked by a
5 NM wide ridge field which was run through using the Azipod actively (turning 360º)
when the vessel was stopped by a ridge sail. The under water part (keel) of the ridge
was washed and "eaten" away by the active propeller. Thus the ridge was weakened
and practically collapsed in front of the vessel. The average speed was 0.5~1.0 knots.

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Fig. 3 Following NIB Yamal in the Kara Sea Fig. 4 Ahead, running alone and turning

Fig. 5 Ahead, running alone and turning. Fig. 6 Astern, running alone turning

The conditions in the Kara Sea during the return voyage are shown in Fig. 7~ Fig.9.

Fig. 7 North of Yamal Peninsula Fig. 8 In polynya west of Yamal Peninsula

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 Fig. 9 Astern, through a 5 NM ridge field

Performance tests in the Gulf of Yenisey, north-east of Dikson and Yugorskiy

Shar
The conditions encountered in the Gulf of Yenisey were: brash ice channel (thickness
in the centre c. 2 m and at the edges 4~5m and level ice, 1.5 m. North-east of Dikson
the thickness of the level ice field was 1.4 m) and in the Yugorskiy Shar (between
Kara and Pechora Sea) the ice thickness was 0.7~0.8 m. The test areas are shown in
Fig. 10.

The following tables 3~6 summarize the main results of the tests performed.

Table 3 Performance in level ice

Area Operation Equivalent Power/ Speed/

mode Hice/m MW kn

Yenisey astern 1.5 13 3-3.5

Yenisey ahead 1.5 13 2.5-2.8
North east of Dikson astern 1.4 13 4-5
Yugorskiy Shar astern 0.73 13 9

Table 4 Performance in own channel

Channel Operation Power Speed Note

mode MW kn
Own channel ahead 4,1 8,9 after astern tests in 1.5 m thick ice
ahead 11,8 14,3
astern 4,87 8,5
Ridge channel astern 13 8~9 originally made with 1~2kn speed

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 Fig. 10 Test areas in the Gulf of Yeniseyv and Yugorskiy Shar

Table 5 Performance in Yenisey channel

Area Operation Power Speed Note

mode MW kn
Yenisey south bound astern 12.3 ~6 frozen for 3 days
Yenisey south bound ahead 12.6 ~8 frozen for 3 days
Yenisey north bound ahead 12 8~9 frozen for 1 day

Table 6 Maneuvering tests

Area Ice condition Time to turn Area Pod angles

min m×m deg
Yenisey south west Rubble/ridges various
of Dikson
Yenisey channel frozen brash ice 20 250×250 various
channel
Out from Yenisey astern various
channel
Yugorskiy Shar, ahead out from own 1.75 380×220 60
channel
Yugorskiy Shar, astern out from own 2.25 600×400 60
channel

In Fig. 11~ Fig. 13 there are views from the test conditions.

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 Fig. 11 In Yenisey channel

Ice Properties
Ice properties were defined by taking samples to determine the flexural strength of ice
through temperature and salinity. In addition limited beam tests were done. Summary
of the ice properties is in Table 7.

Fig. 12 Level ice astern

Fig. 13 Level ice ahead

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 MV Norilsk Nickel, Icebreaking capability
Comparison in level ice, Ahead/Astern, P = 13 MW
5,5

5,0

4,5 Astern
Ahead
4,0 Poly. (Ahead)
Poly. (Astern)
3,5
Ship speed (m/s)

3,0

2,5

2,0

1,5

1,0

0,5

0,0
0,00 0,10 0,20 0,30 0,40 0,50 0,60 0,70 0,80 0,90 1,00 1,10 1,20 1,30 1,40 1,50 1,60 1,70 1,80 1,90 2,00
Ice thickness (m)

Fig. 14 Ship speed ice vs. thickness, H-V curve, running ahead and astern, power 13 MW.

Table 7 Ice properties, salinity based measurements

Area Method Hice Tice Salinity σf

/m /° /% /kPa
Kara Sea/south Salinity 0.44 -5 0,38 457
Yenisey river Salinity 1.50 -8 0 710
Kara Sea/north Salinity 1.40 -10 0,38 567
Yugorskiy Shar Salinity 0.70 -3,5 0,27 415
Yenisey River Beam 1.50 -8 0 666

CONCLUSIONS

In general the vessel performed a bit beyond expectations (based on model tests).
The performance in all test conditions was excellent. The vessel capable of breaking
1.5m thick level ice of the Gulf/river of Yenisey running astern with a speed of 3
knots running astern and 2.5 knots running ahead. In Fig. 14 there is the ice
thickness-speed performance. The limit in running astern is over 1.7 m with 2 knot
speed and running ahead the limit is close to 1.6m. The point where the running
ahead and astern curves meet is 0.9-1.0 m and 3-3.5 m/s (6-7kn).

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One remarkable observation was made during the level ice tests; the vessel was able
to move running astern in 1.5 m level ice with 4 MW and the speed was only 0.2 kn
(0.12 m/s). Normally running ahead the speed limit is around 1 knot.
The capability to proceed in ridges is also stunning. In a ridge field, where running
ahead was encountered almost impossible (could have required numerous rammings),
thickness 5-10 m, the vessel was proceeding with an average speed of 1-2 knots by
using the Azipod actively. The pod was turned each time as the vessel stopped 360
degrees and the powerful water flow moved the submerged part of the ridges and
weakened the ridge and the vessel could proceed again without difficulty.

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