icefocus050406.

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ICE FOCUS
I

T E C H N I C A L N E W S A N D I N F O R M AT I O N
APRIL 2006 Issue 1

Welcome to the first

issue of Ice Focus,
a technical publication
produced by Lloyd’s
Register exclusively for
owners and operators of
ships trading in ice and
cold environments.

IN THIS ISSUE

2 The role of class in ice

and cold operations

4 Neste Oil DATs

in-service experience

6 Shipping in the Arctic

regions of Russia

8 From Russia with LNG

11 Studying fatigue of
ship structures in ice
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2 ICE FOCUS April 2006
The future role of class in ice and
cold operations
Ice and cold operations are beginning to demand something
more from class than the application of prescriptive rules.
The dynamics of ice and cold
operation are changing, as ice-
class vessels grow in size and
new players enter a market
previously populated exclusively
by specialist ship operators.
These changes are being brought
about by the increasing export
volumes of oil out of ice-bound
Russian ports.
As a result, there is now a need
for class to deepen its capability
to address other aspects of ice
and cold operations.
“In response, we are developing
winterisation guidance and
services which will help owners
and operators to address
confidently all aspects of ice and
cold operations, from specifying
ice class in the shipyard to
operation and finally to
decommissioning at the end of
the ship’s life,” says Rob Tustin,
Technical Manager for New
Construction, Lloyd’s Register Asia.
The three elements
Ice and cold operation comprises
the confluence of three principal
elements:
• the ice and cold regime
• the ship operations
• the ship.
The three
elements.
The ice and
cold regime
Ice and
cold operations
Ship
Ship
operations
Ice and cold regime
The ice and cold regime consists
of the prevailing environmental
conditions and the ice
management offered by the
relevant national authority. The
environmental information
includes temperature, ice
thickness, pressure, degree of ice
ridging, duration of ice season,
wind and weather, currents and
presence of land-fast ice. The ice
management includes icebreaker
assistance, the availability of ice
forecasts and the provision of
routeing advice.
The ice and cold regime will have
a profound impact on the design
and operation of a ship. There
will be implications for not only
the choice of ice class, but also
the types of winterisation
measures applied to the design
and operation of the vessel.
Ship operations
Ship operation in ice requires
experienced seafarers who are
experienced in the trade and – as
in other specialised sectors of the
shipping industry – these are in
short supply.
The risk of damage to the hull of
a vessel operating in ice is a
combination of factors such as
the ice sheet thickness, pressure
in the ice sheet, encounters with
ice ridges and large ice pieces
and the manoeuvring and speed
of the vessel in ice.
Particular care is needed when
entering the ice field, and
operating a vessel in broken ice
requires careful control to ensure
that the hull, rudder and
propeller are not damaged.
Icing is a specific issue for vessels
trading in cold regions, and the
ship’s master needs to apply
measures to combat this and to
be aware of the effect icing will
have on the vessel’s stability and
operating draft and trim.
Ship
Ships which are tailored for ice and
cold operation, i.e. ice-class ships,
differ significantly in some respects
from ships specified for normal
trades. Visible features include:
• heavier scantlings in the side
shell structure in the vicinity
of the waterline
• possible ice operation design
of bow shape (particularly for
icebreaking or multi-year-ice
vessels)
• larger diameter shaft and
thicker propeller blade root
• ice knife to prevent possible
rudder and steering gear
damage when manoeuvring
astern in ice.
Typically, when hydrodynamicists
and ship designers develop a hull
form for ice operation, there
is a delicate balance between
optimising open-water as opposed
to ice-going performance. The
ultimate expression of the
compromise in hull design
between these modes is the
double-acting design adopted by
Neste Oil for its aframax tankers
Mastera and Tempera (both
Lloyd’s Register-classed), where the
hull design is optimised for the
ship to operate in forward mode
in open water and for astern
mode for ice navigation. See
pages 4 to 5 for further details of
these ships.
icefocus050406.qxd 5/4/06 12:06 pm Page 3

April 2006 ICE FOCUS 3

The last few years have seen a considerable number of ships delivered
to Lloyd's Register ice class, and many more are currently on order. The
following table highlights just some of these vessels.

Owner Builder Ice class Ship type Size/capacity Delivery date

BP Shipping SHI 1A FS Aframax tanker x 6 113,000 dwt April 2005 to May 2006
Dynacom Universal 1A FS Suezmax tanker x 3 150,000 dwt September to December 2006
Hamburg Tankers GmbH DSME 1A FS Aframax tanker x 2 115,000 dwt August to December 2006
Korea Line Corporation DSME RMRS LU2 Membrane-type LNG 151,800 cu m March 2008
Lundqvist Shipping Co. Ltd. DSME 1A FS Aframax tanker 115,000 dwt May 2006
Marmaras HSHI 1A FS Aftamax tanker x 4 111,000 dwt October 2004 to March 2005
Marmaras HSHI 1A FS Suezmax tanker x 5 163,759 dwt February to October 2006
MOL, K Line and Primorsk Mitsui Chiba 1B FS (hull); RMRS LU2 Moss-type LNG 145,000 cu m March 2008
Shipping (propeller and shaft)
Neste Oil Sumitomo 1AS FS Aframax DAT x 2 106,000 dwt August 2002 to January 2003
NYK and Sovcomflot MHI Nagasaki 1B FS (hull); RMRS LU2 Moss-type LNG x 2 145,000 cu m October to December 2007
(propeller and shaft)
Russian owner STX 1A FS Product tanker x 2 51,000 dwt March to May 2009
Target Marine STX 1A FS Panamax tanker x 3 72,200 dwt April to October 2007
Teekay Shipping DSME 1A FS Aframax tanker 114,834 dwt November 2005
Tsakos Shipping & Trading S.A. HHI 1A FS Suezmax tanker x 4 150,000 dwt April 2005 to February 2006

Looking ahead
To adequately deal with new
operating scenarios, technologies
and trades within icy and cold
environments, class must not
only provide basic guidance on
compliance with minimum
requirements for ice class, but go
beyond this to provide advice on
operational aspects. We are
working with industry
participants, including existing
and potential owners of ice-class
tonnage, national authorities,
equipment manufacturers and
research institutes to develop
new services and to formulate
meaningful guidance to help Ships which are tailored for
ensure that new opportunities ice and cold operation differ
can be taken advantage of while significantly in several
maintaining the safety of respects from ships specified
seafarers, ships, cargo and the for normal trades.
environment in icy and cold
operating conditions.

For further information contact

Rob Tustin, Technical Manager – New Construction
E robert.tustin@lr.org
T +82 (0)51 640 5010
F +82 (0)51 637 0035
icefocus050406.qxd 5/4/06 12:06 pm Page 4
4 ICE FOCUS April 2006
World’s first double-acting tankers going st
Neste Oil’s Tempera and Mastera were the
world’s first double-acting tankers. In practice,
the benefits of their innovative design are living
up to the theory.
The double-acting principle is
a novel concept which is now
beginning to come into its own,
as more shipowners adopt the
design to maximise performance
in ice while retaining commercial
flexibility.
Double-acting principle
The double-acting concept
works by allowing the vessel to
proceed forward in thin ice, and
astern in heavy ice. The vessel is
able to operate in this manner
due to its azipod propulsion
configuration, which gives it
the ability to turn through 180°.
As a result, the forward region
of the hull is optimised for
open water, retaining a bulbous
bow, while the stern is designed
for ice-going conditions. The
stern region has an optimised
ice-breaking stern hull form
and increased ice strengthening
to enable efficient and safe
navigation in ice. The vessel is
thus optimised for open water
operation ahead and ice
operations astern.
This gives double-acting vessels
an enormous advantage, as
previous generations of ice-
class ships always represented
a compromise between
open-water and ice-going
performance. The double-acting
ship provides the ship operator
with the best of both worlds.
Operation astern in level ice
is helped by the combined
effect of:
• a decrease in hull ice
resistance due to lubrication
of the hull by the water flow
from behind the propeller
Mastera and Tempera
both underwent
intermediate special
survey in 2005; the ships
were reported to be in
excellent condition,
having proven themselves
by operating during one
of the worst Baltic
winters in years.
• a decrease in buoyancy of the
ice sheet ahead of the ship
due to the water flow into
the propeller, making the ice
easier to break.
Operation in ridged ice fields
is made possible by the milling
effect of the propeller, which is
used to cut a path for the vessel.
The world’s first double-acting
vessels, Tempera and Mastera,
were delivered by Sumitomo
Heavy Industries in 2002 and 2003
to Finnish oil company Neste Oil.
They are built to the highest first-
year ice-class standard and have
the Lloyd's Register ice-class
notation 1AS. Their unique design
enables these ships to trade
worldwide – they can be operated
in a variety of trades during the
summer and returned to the Baltic
in the winter to navigate in ice.
 icefocus050406.qxd 5/4/06
ng strong
These two video stills taken
underwater during a self-
propelled ice model test show
broken ice interaction with
the hull in ahead and astern
operation, and demonstrate
the lubricating effect of the
water flow from behind the
propeller in astern operation –
less ice is seen along the hull
bottom. (Reproduced with
permission of the Helsinki
University of Technology.)
Mastera in action
in a brash ice
channel.
12:06 pm Page 5
In-service experience
As early adopters of what
remains a relatively novel design
concept, Neste Oil is in the best
position to reveal what it has
been like to operate these
vessels and to provide in-service
feedback. The vessels have now
had a first drydocking and
intermediate survey carried out
by Lloyd's Register.
Tempera and Mastera have
proven service experience, having
operated successfully during the
winter of 2003-2004, considered
to be one of the worst in the
Northern Baltic region for many
years. During this period, the
vessels were able to cope with
the harsh conditions without
encountering any significant
difficulties. Likewise, the azipods
are functioning well with no
reported problems.
The vessels’ design is so effective,
in fact, that Mastera’s Captain,
Janne Sastamala, says that the
April 2006
ship has only ever been stuck in
ice once. According to Capt
Sastamala, the capability of the
vessel has not only met but
exceeded his expectations, so
much so that, on occasion, it has
shown that it is capable of
overtaking icebreakers.
The benefits of the double-
acting concept truly show
themselves when the vessel
encounters an ice ridge. “A
traditional ice-class ship, upon
encountering a ridge, would
need to back up, perhaps many
times, and ram through. With
the Mastera, you simply let the
propeller do its work until you
break through,” says Capt
Sastamala.
Because the crew onboard
Mastera has experience of
the ship and its enhanced
capabilities, they are now able to
take full advantage of them to
maximise operational efficiency.
For instance, unlike conventional
ICE FOCUS 5
ice-class vessels, Mastera can
sometimes perform better
in level ice than in brash ice
(the channel of broken ice left
in the wake of an assisting
icebreaker). It is up to the
Captain, based on his experience
and the prevailing conditions,
to decide whether to navigate
in level ice or in brash ice – the
captain of a conventional ice-
class tanker has little option but
to take the brash ice route.
Jan Bergmann, Senior Surveyor,
Lloyd’s Register EMEA, has had
experience of the ships during
construction, sea trials and in
operation and regularly visits
them as part of his duties as a
field surveyor. “These ships are
truly unique, proving that
innovative design can excel in
practice,” says Bergmann. “These
ships are a credit to both the
builder and the owner, and we
expect that they will trade
successfully for many more
winters to come.”
icefocus050406.qxd 5/4/06 12:06 pm Page 6
6 ICE FOCUS April 2006
New opportunities for shipping in the
Arctic regions of Russia
With vast and largely untapped
reserves of oil and gas in its
Western Arctic regions, Russia
is likely to become the last
hydrocarbon reserve for this
millennium. Projects are already
underway to ensure that
effective exploitation of these
reserves begins as soon as
possible.
During 2005, significant
milestones were reached in a
number of pioneering projects
for year-round export of oil
and gas from the Barents and
Pechora seas. These milestones
indicate bright prospects for the
specialised oil shuttle tankers and
liquefied natural gas (LNG) ships
that will serve in the seas of the
Russian Arctic.
Three projects in particular are
greatly increasing the need for
these ship types in the region:
• export of crude oil from the
Prirazlomnoye offshore oil field
in the Pechora Sea, creating a
demand for double-acting
shuttle tankers
• export of crude oil produced
onshore in the Timan-Pechora
region, requiring further
double-acting shuttle tankers
for the Varandey terminal on
the southern shores of the
Pechora Sea
• export of gas produced from
the Shtokman offshore gas field
in the Barents Sea, requiring
specialised LNG carriers.
Exporting oil from the
Prirazlomnoye oil field
The most significant oil deposit
to be found in the Pechora Sea is
the Prirazlomnoye oil field, with
estimated reserves of about 60
million tons. The field is located
about 60 km north of the
southern shoreline of the Pechora
A Western Petroleum
tanker, built to Lloyd’s
Register ice class 1A FS,
loads oil from the
Lukoil-II terminal on
Vysotsky Island.
Sea, and oil production from the
field is expected to reach up to 7.5
million tons a year by 2012. It is
estimated that the field’s reserves
will last for about 22 years at an
average production rate of 22,000
tons per day.
For year-round operation the
seasonal sea ice conditions at
Prirazlomnoye can be very hostile.
The offshore field location is ice
free for only about 110 days a year
and, during severe winters, the
sea ice is over 1.5 metres thick
on average. Extreme ambient
temperatures prevail in the most
severe winters, with recorded
temperatures as low as -50°C.
A gravity-based offshore
production unit is to be installed
at the Prirazlomnoye site and oil
produced will be shuttled to a
floating storage unit anchored
off Murmansk. A contract for the
construction of two 70,000 dwt
double-acting diesel electric
shuttle tankers has been placed
with Admiralty Shipyards in St
Petersburg. The basic design
package and design assistance
for this project is being provided
by Aker Arctic Technology, Inc.
On delivery, the two shuttle
tankers will be chartered by
Sevmorneftgaz and managed
by Sovcomflot.
icefocus050406.qxd 5/4/06
Exploitation of the Western
Arctic regions of Russia will
create a demand for more
double-acting tankers such
as Tempera, classed by
Lloyd’s Register and owned
by Neste Oil.
12:06 pm Page 7
Exporting oil from
the Varandey terminal
The Timan-Pechora region contains
over 100 onshore oil fields, with
total recoverable reserves
estimated at 10 billion barrels (1.35
billion tons). Lukoil has a 10-year
plan to invest upwards of $3 billion
in the region and produce more
than 700,000 barrels (94,500 tons)
of oil per day for export.
As part of its development plans,
Lukoil is to reconstruct a terminal
at Varandey on the southern coast
of the Pechora Sea and increase
terminal export capacity from
1.5 million to 11.8 million tons per
year, using shuttle tankers for year-
round export of oil. Three 70,000
dwt double-acting ice-class tankers
have been contracted at Samsung
Heavy Industries (SHI) in Korea. To
be delivered between 2007 and
2009, these ships will carry oil to
Murmansk from a gravity-based
loading unit at Varandey.
Design technology for this project
has also been provided by Aker
Arctic Technology, Inc as part of a
co-operative agreement it has
with the yard. The vessels will be
employed on long-term charters
to Naryanmarneftegas – a Lukoil-
Conoco Philips joint venture – and
managed by Sovcomflot.
Exporting gas from the
Shtokman field
One of the largest gas fields in
the Arctic regions of Russia is the
Shtokman field in the Barents
Sea, with estimated reserves of
3.2 trillion cu metres. The field is
located 290 km west of the Novaya
Zemlya archipelago and 650 km
northeast of the port of Murmansk.
April 2006
Exports are expected to
commence in the first half of
the next decade, with gas being
piped ashore from a sub-sea
wellhead completion. Gas will be
processed at the rate of around
30 billion cu metres per year
and liquefied at a plant near
Murmansk, producing up to 15
million tons of LNG for export to
the American market each year.
Between 10 and 15 LNG carriers
will be needed for the first phase
of this project.
Laying the foundations
Lloyd’s Register has actively
contributed to research project
work for the development of
shipping in these areas. Our
involvement in these projects goes
back nearly 10 years, starting with
the EU-funded ArcDev (Arctic
Development Voyage) project, in
which an ice-strengthened
tanker was used to transport
condensate from the Ob River
estuary on the Yamal Peninsula
to Rotterdam, assisted in its
navigation by Russian icebreakers
in the western Kara Sea.
More recently, as part of our
contribution to the EU-funded
ArcOp (Arctic Operational
Platform) project, which was
completed in 2005, we compared
the potential application of
the forthcoming International
Association of Classification
Societies (IACS) Polar Ship Rules
with existing Russian requirements,
including the Russian Maritime
Ship Register (RMRS) Ice Class
Rules, and made practical
recommendations for their
implementation in respect of
vessels trading to Russian Arctic
For further information contact
Rob Tustin, Technical Manager – New Construction
E robert.tustin@lr.org
T +82 (0)51 640 5010
F +82 (0)51 637 0035
ICE FOCUS 7
sea areas. This work was carried
out in conjunction with the
Helsinki University of Technology
(HUT), the Arctic and Antarctic
Research Institute (AARI) and the
Central Marine Research and
Design Institute (CNIIMF).
As the only western classification
society fully involved from the
outset in both projects, we have
actively contributed to research
work that has laid the foundations
for the development of shipping
in Russian Arctic sea areas.
First and future steps
The Prizazlomnoye and Varandey
terminals are now under
development and the first oil
exports will begin within this
decade. Development of the
Shtokman field is being planned
and production of gas is likely
to start in the early part of the
next decade.
Over the longer term, since
approximately 90% by volume of
Russian gas reserves are located in
its Arctic and sub-Arctic regions, it
seems highly likely that there will
be extensive future development
of Arctic LNG ships to support the
export of gas from Russia. More
information on this subject can
be found on pages 8 to 10.
Lloyd’s Register intends to
maintain its participation through
the classification of vessels built to
serve the Russian Arctic regions, as
well as through further research
and development projects, to help
ensure that milestones continue to
be reached and that prospects for
specialised tankers and LNG
carriers continue to grow.
icefocus050406.qxd 5/4/06 12:06 pm Page 8
8 ICE FOCUS April 2006
From Russia with LNG
The first ice-class LNG ships for
Sakhalin Island service are now under
construction to Lloyd’s Register class.
What considerations have been taken
into account during design of these
ships for ice and cold operation, and
what further considerations will be
required as reliance on Russian gas
reserves increases?
At the current time, three gas
export terminals are at the
planning stages or already
under construction in the harsh
environments of Russia – one at
Prigorodnoye, one near St.
Petersburg and one near
Murmansk. Liquefied natural gas
(LNG) carriers will be required to
serve each of these terminals,
and all of them will need to be
constructed with special features
designed to help them operate
in the ice and cold conditions
that prevail.
Aspirations for Russian LNG
The three terminal development
projects have resulted from
the ambitions of potential
importers and exporters wishing
to trade Russian LNG to North
American gas markets. These
players will become increasingly
reliant on Russia for the supply
of LNG in the future, and the
projects have therefore been
met with enthusiasm from all
quarters.
In Washington, D.C. in October
2005, Alexander Medvedev,
Deputy Chairman of Gazprom,
with responsibility for the
company’s international
activities, indicated that he saw
Gazprom’s LNG activity in the
US developing over time.
“In the future… we will enable
large-scale LNG deliveries from
our own projects, namely Baltic
LNG and Shtokman LNG,”
he said.
When the agreement about
commencement of the
engineering design for the
Baltic LNG project was
announced in March this year,
Ron Brenneman, Petro-Canada’s
President and Chief Executive
Officer observed: “LNG is going
to be a big part of the future of
the gas market in North America.
As this project moves forward,
we will be in an excellent
position to import long-term
gas supply…from Russia.”
icefocus050406.qxd 5/4/06 12:06 pm Page 9

April 2006 ICE FOCUS 9

The first five ships for Sakhalin Register will issue a letter of Beyond the first five ships
Lloyd’s Register has been compliance for the application Lloyd’s Register has kept abreast
involved with the Sakhalin II LNG of the RMRS standard, as well as of the projects planned for gas
project from its early stages and certifying that the winterisation export from Russia, and has an
has for some time been assisting features meet the technical in-depth understanding of the
An artist’s impression of
shipbuilders and owners with the specification. Two of the vessels technical challenges that might
an Arctic LNG ship
design and development of the are being constructed at materialise for the LNG carriers
employing a Moss-type
ships that will export LNG from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) designed to ply these trades in the
independent tank
this first Russian LNG terminal. A for a joint venture between future. Each new project will have
containment system.
total of five LNG ships are now Sovcomflot and NYK Line; the its own special characteristics in
on order or under construction to other is being built at Mitsui terms of the ice and cold regime,
Lloyd’s Register class and will Engineering & Shipbuilding (MES) and specification of new ships will
eventually serve the gas export for a joint venture between require careful consideration if
terminal at Prigorodnoye in Primorsk Shipping Co, MOL and they are to meet the challenges
Aniva Bay. K-Line. All of these vessels are presented.
being built for long-term time
Three of these ships are being charter to Sakhalin Energy for LNG Baltic LNG project
built in Japan, employing a export service to Japan, as well as With a gas export terminal near
Moss-type independent tank to the west coast of the US. St Petersburg and a gas receiving
containment system. The hull terminal likely at Gros-Cacouna,
construction has been designed to The other two Sakhalin ships will Quebec, the LNG carriers for this
Finnish-Swedish ice class 1B be built to Lloyd’s Register class trade will need to be designed
standard and the propeller and in Korea: one at Hyundai Heavy for first-year sea ice conditions in
line shafting to Russian Maritime Industries (HHI) employing the the Gulf of Finland, as well as the
Register of Shipping (RMRS) ice Technigaz Mk III membrane Gulf of St Lawrence. It is likely,
class LU2 standard. Lloyd’s containment system and the then, that the ice-class standard
other at Daewoo Shipbuilding selected to strengthen the hull,
and Marine Engineering (DSME) propeller and shaft for the
employing the Gaz Transport intended service, as well as the
NO96 membrane containment standard of power installed, will
THE THREE RUSSIAN LNG TERMINALS
system. The latter of these two need to be a hybrid of the
vessels is for Korea Line and will requirements applied by the
Sahkalin II LNG project: Prigorodnoye terminal
deliver LNG from Sahkalin on national and port authorities of
At this terminal, a two-train gas liquefaction plant with an
long-term charter to the gas both Canada and Russia.
annual capacity of 9.6 million tonnes is currently under
receiver KOGAS.
construction by Sakhalin Energy. The terminal is located on the
As seasonal sea ice conditions
shores of Aniva Bay at the southern end of Sakhalin Island and
Both of the Korean-built ships are generally more severe at
first-year ice conditions prevail.
will have RMRS ice class LU2 St Petersburg than those
standards applied to the hull, prevailing in Aniva Bay, with a
Baltic LNG project: terminal near St. Petersburg propeller and shaft line. longer sea ice season of 120 days
Earlier this year, Petro-Canada and OAO Gazprom announced Drawings for the ship to be compared to 95 days on average,
an agreement to proceed with the initial engineering design constructed at HHI have recently a higher standard of ice class is
required to build a Baltic gas liquefaction plant near received RMRS approval, and an also likely to be necessary for
St Petersburg. It is envisaged that supply from this Baltic LNG ice certificate and certificate of ships built for this trade. A lower
plant will be shipped to Petro-Canada’s LNG regasification facility engine power have been issued standard of ice class might be
in Gros-Cacouna, Quebec. First-year ice conditions prevail both by the Central Marine Design applied, however, if the ships are
at the gas exporting and the gas receiving terminals. and Research Institute (CNIIMF) to have dedicated ice breaker
and approved by the Russian support, giving them access to ice
Shtokman LNG project: terminal near Murmansk Ministry of Transport management and assistance
Development of a gas liquefaction plant near Murmansk is (ROSMORNEFT). where necessary.
planned early in the next decade as part of the Shtokman field
development. This plant is expected to produce up to about 15
million tons per year of LNG for export to the American market.
icefocus050406.qxd 5/4/06 12:06 pm Page 10
10 ICE FOCUS April 2006
It seems likely that the
winterisation features applied
to enable LNG ships to serve the
Baltic LNG project in the cold
conditions of the Gulf of Finland
and Gulf of St Lawrence will be
consistent with those applied to
tankers trading to the port of
Primorsk near St Petersburg,
with the possible application of
additional features to enable
loading and discharge of LNG
ships in a cold environment.
Shtokman LNG project
Since the gas export terminal
on this project is planned for
Murmansk, the LNG carriers built
for this trade may not need to
be optimised for first-year sea
ice operation, as the port of
Murmansk is ice free all year round.
For further information contact
Robert Tustin, Technical Manager – New Construction
E robert.tustin@lr.org
T +82 (0)51 640 5010
F +82 (0)51 637 0035
A satellite photo of the western
Kara Sea during the winter of
2002 shows that the probable
routes for Arctic LNG ship
operations will take place in
ice-bound waters. (Photo courtesy
of NASA: Visible Earth web site.)
However, it is conceivable that
these ships might be required for
transportation of LNG to a gas
receiving terminal in the Gulf of
St Lawrence, where first-year sea
ice is experienced, and it may
be advisable to take this into
account when the ships are
specified and designed.
The Barents Sea is characterised
by a combination of severe
wave conditions in a cold
environment, and a particular
characteristic of any exporting
LNG ships will be their high
degree of winterisation –
particularly with regard to
features designed to combat
deck icing. For year-round open-
water service in the harsh Barents
environment, special attention
will also need to be given to
hull and cargo tank design to
ensure that fatigue-inducing
wave load considerations are
taken into account.
Looking further ahead
If exploitation of gas fields in
ever more remote locations
continues, there will be a need
for LNG vessels that are equipped
to perform in even more extreme
conditions and multi-year ice.
Vessels serving the harshest parts
Russia’s Western Arctic, which
contains what are thought to be
among the world’s largest
natural gas reserves, will have to
be constructed to a much higher
ice class than the Sakhalin ships
currently being built, and fresh
design approaches are likely to
be necessary.
An indication of what form such
Arctic LNG carriers might take
can be gleaned from recent
developments in large LNG
carrier design and propulsion
and from the large ice-class
double-acting tankers that have
been produced. It is highly likely,
though, that they will incorporate
technologies and solutions that
we have not seen in the LNG
industry to date and, with the
development of shuttle LNG ships
also now a distinct possibility,
we may also see changes in
the commercial and operational
aspects of LNG delivery when
the Russian reserves begin to
be exploited fully.
Currently classing more LNG
ships than anyone else, and with
over 1,000 ships totalling in
excess of 11 million gt having
been built to Lloyd’s Register ice
class over the past 25 years,
Lloyd’s Register has vast
experience of LNG and ice-class
vessels. Coupled with our
extensive knowledge of ice and
cold operations and our unique
involvement in Arctic maritime
research, this experience enables
us to provide advice of the
highest quality on ice class and
winterisation issues. We look
forward to helping owners,
operators and yards with the
technical specification, design
and construction of the Arctic
LNG carriers of the future.
icefocus050406.qxd 5/4/06 12:06 pm Page 11
Studying fatigue of ship structures in ice
Lloyd’s Register, together with ILS Ltd and the
Krylov Institute, is undertaking a groundbreaking
study on fatigue of hull structures induced by ice
loads. The aim of this study is to assess the risk
of fatigue damage in future generations of
ice-strengthened vessels.
With the increase in size of
ice-class vessels, particularly oil
tankers and LNG carriers, it is
becoming increasingly important
that we develop a good
understanding of the fatigue
strength of hull structures
in ice.
“Designers and owners need
to have confidence in the
structural performance of this
latest generation of large ships.
To date, however, the fatigue
Poor fatigue performance
performance of the hull structure
of hull structures can lead to
of these vessels as they navigate
fatigue cracking, observed here
year round in ice-covered waters
during laboratory tests on a
has not been studied in depth,”
crucifom joint.
April 2006
says Shengming Zhang, a Senior
Project Engineer in Lloyd’s
Register’s Research and
Development Department.
To address this gap in the
industry’s knowledge, Lloyd's
Register has initiated a study to
investigate ship-ice interaction
loads, load frequency, structural
responses and the fatigue
behaviour of hull structures in
cold temperatures, as well as any
associated fatigue damage. The
study is being undertaken with
Finnish firm ILS Ltd and the
Krylov Institute in Russia.
ILS Ltd, a firm of consulting
naval architects and marine
engineers with extensive
experience in the design of
icebreakers and ice-strengthened
vessels, will deal with the
loading aspects of the study,
while the Krylov Institute will
investigate the fatigue aspects.
“This is an interesting and
challenging project because it will
extend the boundaries of fatigue
calculation methods. To determine
the fatigue loading, it will not be
enough to calculate the maximum
load, as in normal strength
calculations. The whole loading
spectrum must be determined,”
says Dr Kaj Riska, Director of
Arctic Consultation, ILS Ltd.
As the study progresses, ice
load amplitude distributions
will be determined for different
winter conditions and ice
thicknesses on typical winter
trade routes for shipping in
ice-covered waters.
For further information contact
Shengming Zhang, Senior Project Engineer, Lloyd’s Register
E shengming.zhang@lr.org
T +44 (0)20 7423 1989
F +44 (0)20 7423 2061
ICE FOCUS 11
The determinations will be based
on full-scale measurements
conducted on ships navigating
in ice.
Using the developed load
spectrum, structural responses
to these loads, as well as S-N
curves for cold temperatures
(in which stress amplitude is
plotted against number of cycles
to failure), fatigue damage can
then be estimated for the typical
structural details of larger,
ice-strengthened ships.
The results will identify the
fatigue damage accumulation
for different winter conditions
and routes. The effect of the
choice of ice class on fatigue
damage accumulation is also
being investigated. It is expected
that the results will be published
later this year.
“The needs of the industry are
changing, and the development
of larger, ice-strengthened
vessels is one example of this,”
says Zhang. “We are committed
to reducing risks to ships, to
crews and to the environment,
and by helping to improve their
fatigue performance we can
increase confidence that vessels
will be suitable for trade in
harsh regions.”
icefocus050406.qxd 5/4/06 12:06 pm Page 12

12 ICE FOCUS April 2006

Classification news Horizons

Lloyd’s Register’s Classification News delivers up-to-date Horizons is our quarterly
information on issues requiring urgent and immediate technical publication for
dissemination to the marine industry. Recent inspection and the marine industry. Topics
statutory alerts we have issued include: recently covered include:

• California introduces new ballast
water management regulations
• Washington introduces
additional ballast water
reporting requirement
• Product safety notice – fire
extinguishers manufactured
by Strike First
• Possible malfunction of Kidde
Graviner MK6 engine crankcase
oil mist detector system
• Brazilian ballast water
regulations – foreign-flagged
vessels given time to comply
• Reminder – emergency fire
pump targeted by port state
control officers
• New MARPOL 73/78
Annex I Regulation 37(4) –
access to shore-based damage
stability/residual structural
strength calculation
programs required.
• news about how Lloyd's
Register is helping the industry
to implement the new
common structural Rules for
tankers and bulk carriers
• revisions to MARPOL 73/78
Annex I, covering shipboard
oil emergency plans
• LNG in China
• design and assessment of
shipboard alarm systems.
Horizons includes regular
features on:

• Paris MOU, Tokyo MOU and Vina
del Mar announce concentrated
inspection campaign on
MARPOL 73/78 Annex I-related
operational requirements
Classification News is
available free of charge.
These issues, together with the
archive of alerts, may be viewed
online at www.cdlive.lr.org
• legislative developments
• the latest in ship technology
• recent deliveries to Lloyd's
Register class
• forthcoming exhibitions and
technical papers.

ICE FOCUS Horizons can be downloaded

from our web sites (www.lr.org
For further information relating Managing Editor:
to ice and cold operations, please Andrew Mackie and www.cdlive.lr.org). If you
contact Rob Tustin, Technical Marine Business Development would like to receive a hard copy,
Manager – New Construction T +44 (0)20 7423 2305 please contact:
T +82 (0)51 640 5010 F +44 (0)20 7423 2213
F +82 (0)51 637 0035 E andrew.mackie@lr.org Adele Stokes
E robert.tustin@lr.org Lloyd's Register
Ice Focus newsletter is produced by Marine Business Development and
71 Fenchurch Street
designed by Pipeline Design. London EC3M 4BS, UK
Care is taken to ensure that the information in Ice Focus is accurate and T +44 (0)20 7423 2309
up to date. However, Lloyd’s Register accepts no responsibility for F +44 (0)20 7423 2213
inaccuracies in, or changes to such information.
E adele.stokes@lr.org

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April 2006
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