RS issues the first Polar Ship Certificate
The first Polar Ship Certificate was issued by the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RS). The document was released by Murmansk Branch on 22 December, 2016 in the port of Murmansk to the tanker Shturman Albanov, owned by SCF Group, RS said in its press release.
In connection with the Polar Code entering into force, the compliance with the requirements thereof is a precondition for ships operated in the Barents Sea, Cara Sea water area south of 60 S and in other seas included in the polar water. The Polar Ship Certificate confirms the ship's compliance with the Code requirements related the safe navigation - for instance, the of the ship's hull to withstand severe temperature and ice conditions, sufficiency of anti-ice arrangements, the ability of ship's navigation systems and communication systems to provide the ship with the required information at the high latitudes.
Shturman Albanov is a lead ship of series of Arctic shuttle tankers (pr. 42K Arctic Shuttle Tanker) intended for delivery of crude oil from Yamal Peninsula (the Yamal- Nenets Autonomous District) to the port of Murmansk. The tanker's deadweight is about 42 000 t. This is the navigation first ever tanker featured to ensure the year-round hydrocarbon transportation from the Golf of Ob. Shturman Albanov is designed with regard to the characteristics of the Gulf of Ob offshore area, famous for a large number of shoals and relatively shallow depths in some areas of the ship routes - less than 10 meters deep - and ice-covered from October to July. The ship is capable of operating at temperatures down to -45°С, its draft allows for freely manoeuvring in the gulf. The propulsion plant with two Azipod-type azimuth thrusters of 22 MW aggregate rating intended to ensure high icebreaking capacity and good manoeuvrability of the tanker in overcoming ice packs and heavy ice floes.
Shturman Albanov is constructed and operated under the RS technical supervision. RS class notation: KM (*) Arc7 AUT1-ICS OMBO LI CCO ECO-S BWM(Т) BLS-SPM Oil tanker (ESP) CSR.
Konstantin Palnikov, RS Director General, noted: “In a technical sense, the tanker meets the highest requirements of safe navigation in the Arctic seas. Application of the RS rules allowed to comply with the Polar Code requirements as early as at the design stage due to the fact that our requirements correspond to the Polar Code provision in advance. Thus, the ships having Arc7 in their class notation correspond to the Category A of the Code in respect of compliance with the requirements to hull structure, machinery installation, intact stability and damage stability.
Reference:
Polar Code (International Code for Ships Operating in Polar Waters) is an IMO instrument, intended to boost safe navigation in polar areas. The Code shall enter into force on 1 January 2017 with transition period until 2018, which covers all issues related to designing and operation of ice class ships. Developed with the RS specialists’ direct involvement.
Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RS) is an internationally recognized classification society RS was established in 1913. Over 5000 ships in the RS class flying the flags of 47 countries. About 50 RS Branch Offices and Representative Offices in Russia and worldwide are recognized by Maritime Administrations in more than 71 flag states, including 16 EU states.
The Register is a credentialed expert in technical supervision of ice class ships: 5000 ships classed with RS include over 3200 ice class ships, more than 300 of them are capable of being operated in the Arctic seas. The RS rules are being constantly developed and improved considering the up-to-date needs of the shipping industry.
