Communication of Arctic Marine Transportation opportunities

Source at https://iopscience.iop.org/journal/1757-899X.In a risk analysis we identify the causes that could lead to unwanted events/ outcomes. We introduce barriers that will reduce the probabilities of such events and also barriers that will mitigate the consequences of such events. Regarding Arctic Marine Transportation Challenges, more attention should be placed on communicating all work that is undertaken to enhance the safety and limit the environmental footprint of sailing along the Northern Sea Route. Training of personnel is, furthermore, undertaken in accordance with the requirements set to obtain Polar Code Certificates, and evacuation, escape and rescue exercises are regularly undertaken by vessel owners having vessels entering the area. Support is available for rescue operations and legal regulations is administrated by the Northern Sea Route Administration. Improved information on ice and ice-flow conditions are made available by an increased number of satellite observations. A steady improvement of all safety related features is ongoing. It is necessary to identify why the problems and the challenges are highlighted by the commercial actors, while the opportunities and savings are not that clearly presented. This paper will discuss a series of challenges for Arctic Marine Transportation and how these are being mitigated. Recommendations will be given regarding prioritizing of additional mitigation measures. Of key concern is the climate impact where the Northern Sea Route could be presented as a Green intercontinental transportation route in case use of heavy fuel oil is not permitted and by highlighting the support of icebreakers to ensure that schedules for all traffic can be kept and that safety during the transit is of key importance. The total climate imprint of using the Northern Sea Route should be compared to the imprint of sailing alternative routes and be communicated as a key opportunity for sustainable intercontinental sea transportation

Modelling of Waves for the Design of Offshore Structures

For the design of structures we need to select design safety levels to ensure structures shall safely operate and not collapse. These levels are given in relevant safety standards. For these levels we need to identify the actions and ensure that we design according to recognized codes. The objective of this technical note is to shed light on the identification of the design action due to waves to ensure that the design action events be incorporated in the design phase of the structures. The approach used in this technical note is to give a description of an actual extreme event, discuss the efforts and research that was undertaken to explain the event, investigate wave conditions which possibly could have been present at the day of the event, and present a challenge and suggestion for wave tanks to ensure that design action events really are identified during wave tank experiments. We will, in particular, discuss the need for modelling of nonlinear waves to ensure that the action effects from waves are properly identified.publishedVersio

Technical and economic challenges for Arctic Coastal settlements due to melting of ice and permafrost in the Arctic

The safety of Arctic coastal villages/settlements is of concern due to melting of the ice cover and the permafrost in the Arctic. The immediate concerns for Arctic coastal settlements are due to a number of causes. These causes can be listed as follows: increased distances of open seas during the storm season, larger storm surges due to longer distances of open water without ice cover, larger waves due to longer fetch lengths, increased permafrost melting caused by warmer summer seasons, larger erosion of melted shoreline, increased number of storms causing accumulation of storm erosion effects, large flooding events destroying houses and facilities as well as infrastructure and fresh water reservoirs. There will be possible offshore slides due to melting of offshore permafrost with potential for tsunami generation, and riverbanks will erode due to the melting of permafrost. Slides caused by increased wetness (for example quick clay slides) will occur and housing and water reservoirs will be damaged. Furthermore, the winter seasons are shorter where winter roads can be utilized and the seasons for hunting from the ice cover is shorter. There will be economic losses for the villages/settlements due to changing climate and in the case of needed relocation of the villages, the economic costs are huge. The paper discusses the effects of these concerns and will suggest certain mitigating measures, which only to a limited extent can relieve the situation. The ultimate solution will be relocation of the inhabitants and in some cases the settlement may be relocated to safe location further inland.publishedVersio

Polar Ship Design and Operations: Past, Present, and Future

From an early emphasis on geographic exploration and exploitation of the resources in the polar offshore area (by hunting for walrus ivory teeth, seals, and whales), the focus is currently shifting toward the sustainable use of the Arctic’s resources. Developments in the Antarctic are mainly limited to fisheries, cruise traffic, and scientific expeditions. The focus in the Arctic is currently on using the Arctic offshore for fisheries, transport of oil and gas products, cargo traffic, and leisure (cruise traffic) in a safe and environmentally sustainable way. During this process, maritime operations have become relatively safe due to the introduction of international codes for the design and strengthening of polar vessels (ice class), the rules of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), and in particular the requirements for training of polar crew members. The continuous work to align the classification societies’ rules for ships in polar regions is a step toward improved safety for sailing in these regions. Safety for crew members and passengers has also improved through the use of modern communications systems (particularly satellite navigation) and the availability of ships and helicopters to support search and rescue (SAR) operations.publishedVersio

Wind turbines designed for easy installation

The costs of installation, intervention/maintenance and decommissioning of fixed bottom, founded offshore wind turbine concepts are unreasonably high when using state of the art technology. For such wind turbine concepts, state of the art is to use jackups or crane vessels for said operations. This might not be attractive in view of the large costs of employing sufficiently sized equipment that can operate under most weather conditions. In particular, there is a concern regarding the limited availability of offshore wind turbine installation-equipment in situations where there are larger waves most of the year, as in the North Sea. The investment costs for the wind turbines are thus larger than necessary. There is thus a need for new thinking to develop safe but less costly technology and procedures for these operations. Furthermore, heavy maintenance is particularly difficult for offshore wind turbines, requiring the use of expensive offshore vessels, i.e. vessels requesting high day rates during operations. In view of this, new technical solutions are, in this paper, proposed for the installation, intervention/maintenance and decommissioning of offshore wind concepts. In particular, the use of ballast procedures combined with use of the less costly offshore service vessels to perform offshore operations safely will be investigated. Similarly, the state of art design of the wind turbines requires the use of large cranes for heavy maintenance of said equipment and it might be considered to lower the nacelle to perform such operations. These operations shall not, however, get in conflict with the requirement that the blades shall never touch the sea surface under any activity. The design is extended to floating wind turbines which can be optimized for cost saving fabrication and installation using the method described for the fixed wind turbine designs.publishedVersio

The physical conditions of the Barents Sea, a note to fishing vessels

The physical conditions of the Barents Sea, a note to fshing vessels. The conditions for fshing in the Barents Sea are excellent. An abundance of fsh and well-regulated agreements between Norway and the European Union Countries. For fshing vessels, there are, however, aspects to be aware of in relation to the physical environment: • The extreme wave conditions in the area are characterized by large waves, Norsok Standard N003. The fetch giving rise to the largest waves is from the south western direction and it is noted that the waves are longer than in the North Sea. This may infuence on the response of vessels to the wave conditions. • In case of Polar Low pressures, the forecasts are very uncertain and in general vessels should not be in the area of a passing Polar Low Pressure. Meteorologist will issue warnings to fsheries to be prepared to leave the locations of potential tracks of Polar Lows. Very large waves may occur within an hour in case of the most extreme conditions (Orimolade et al., 2016). • In case of high winds, large waves and low temperatures, sea spray icing may grow very fast and vessels must initiate ice removal procedures to avoid loss of stability (Johansen et al., 2020). A warning occurs prior to dangerous situations as the roll period of the vessel increases when approaching unsafe stability conditions, low GM values. Note that in case of Polar Low pressures, there may be heavy snow following the Polar Low. The snow may easily freeze to ice, hampering the stability of the vessel. The Norwegian Meteorological Institute issues icing warnings to seafarers. • In case of sea spray icing, the ice will accumulate on the fore part of the vessel and on the bridge, less on the back of the vessel. It should be possible to trim the vessel to ensure an even keel voyage. • Due to the northern latitude, GPS signals may disappear and backup navigation tools shall be available. • In case of distress, the Norwegian Rescue Center; The Joint Rescue Coordination Center (JRCC) in Bodø, Norway, is in charge of search and rescue. The Norwegian Coast guard is normally on duty in the Barents Sea and will assist all vessels in the area.Peer Reviewe

Safety and reliability improvement of valves and actuators in the offshore oil and gas industry

Valve failure is a major risk and a costly phenomenon in the offshore sector of the oil and gas industry. It results in severe negative consequences, such as a loss of assets, a loss of production due to plant shutdowns, and health, safety, and environmental (HSE) issues, such as hydrocarbon (oil and gas) spillage. Improving the safety and reliability of the valves and connected actuators is necessary to limit the occurrence of failure. This paper focuses on three aspects of improving valve and actuator reliability: material selection, design optimization, and boosting the safety integrity level (SIL). The first and second aspects are applicable only to valves, but the third targets both valves and actuators. Using value engineering as a systematic material selection approach shows that 25 Cr super duplex is an optimum material for valves in process services, such as valves for hydrocarbons and chemicals, if the hydrogen sulfide content in the oil is below the limit given in ISO 15156. A case study using a wall thickness and weight reduction approach—according to ASME sec.VIII instead of ASME B16.34—on large, heavy oil export pipeline ball valves is reviewed in this paper. A finite element analysis has been performed to ensure that the thickness of the valve is sufficient to withstand pipeline loads. Insufficient valve thickness can jeopardize the mechanical integrity of a valve and causes valve failure. SIL calculation is a major step in improving the safety and reliability of safety critical valves. A method of SIL calculation is implemented as per the IEC 61508 standard for oil export pipeline valves with an emergency shutdown function. Utilizing leakage monitoring and partial stroke testing increases the SIL along with safety and reliability.publishedVersio

Analysis and Assessment of Onshore and Offshore Wind Turbines Failures

The rapidly increasing energy demand and the inevitable negative effects on the environment caused by fossil-fuelled energy production have made renewable energy technologies increasingly important and preferred among the widely used energy sources during the last decades. Wind energy is one of the leading renewable energy technologies. Wind energy is a carbon-free, environmentally friendly and competitive technology. A step forward in production of wind energy is offshore and onshore wind turbines, with their numerous advantages. Today, the increasing energy needs make onshore and offshore wind turbine applications an increasingly widespread renewable energy source. However, with this change, challenges arise during the operation phases as being associated with the strength of the wind turbines. Potential failures must be known in advance so that they can be dealt with strongly and effectively in the design phase. Damages and failures have a negative effect on the continuation of the operation and cause material and economic impacts. In this paper, the findings from a collection of failure data are presented. The database is available on request. The novelty of this paper is to assess and analyse the damages to wind turbines onshore and offshore in order to reduce the risk of potential failures, damages and collapse of wind turbines. According to the results of these studies and analyses, the database of failures experienced is considered to represent the general failure rate in the industry. This paper brings solutions and suggestions for future studies by pointing out risks and the failure situations that wind turbines are exposed to. It can help innovative solutions with the presentation of a detailed view of risk and failure situations.publishedVersio

Impact of and solutions to effects of climate changes for Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway

Climate changes forces us to make significant mitigation and adaptation measures. As temperature rises and the environmental conditions changes, a variety of challenges occur. Across the whole globe, harming consequences are already being experienced. The Arctic region is particularly vulnerable to changes in Earth's climate system, especially because of the albedo effect, and the region is already heavily impacted. Primarily through the melting of ice, both sea ice and glaciers, permafrost thawing and changing precipitation patterns. Longyearbyen, Svalbard, is one examples of a society having to change as a direct result of global warming. This paper focuses on the challenges Longyearbyen will be facing and possible adaption methods and solutions. Because of environmental changes, the risk of natural hazards will increase, infrastructure will get damaged and traditional engineering methods will be impossible to implement. This is threatening to human lives as well as the habitat and survival of mammals, birds, and plants. It will be essential to find ways to predict and limit the effects of climate challenges, by protecting people and infrastructure from them. This will require innovation, adaption and risk-taking. By investigating the climate challenges facing Longyearbyen and possible ways to address them, this paper emphasizes the urgency of tackling the effects of climate changes in the Arctic in order to protect the communities in the Arctic region.publishedVersio

Use of simulator training to mitigate risks in arctic shipping operations

Over the recent years, ship traffic in the polar areas has increased. There is reason to believe that this traffic, and especially the cruise traffic, will increase further as the ice retracts towards the poles. There is also reason to believe that with the continued focus and exposure of the Polar Region, the cruise tourism to the region will grow. The increased presence in the polar areas will create positive repercussions for several actors, both on sea and land. There will, however, also be challenges associated with the growing presence in the polar areas. Vessels will be operating at long distances to other vessels and land infrastructures. These vessels will also be operating in climate and conditions that will put extra pressure on both vessel and crew. These challenges need to be solved in order for the ship industry to operate safely in the Polar Region. To ensure that companies operating in these areas identify and manage these challenges, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) developed the Polar Code (2017) with the intent of increasing the safety for vessels operating in polar waters, and to reduce the impact on humans and environment in this remote, vulnerable and harsh area. This code defines a number of requirements, with which the vessels should operate in accordance with. In this paper, we reveal which challenges the vessel and its crew need to deal with when navigating in polar waters. The challenges will be analysed and assessed through the use of a preliminary qualitative risk analysis to determine the potential hazards the vessel is exposed to under operations in polar waters, and to find out what level of risk the different hazards represents for the vessel and its crew. The main objective of the paper is to find out how the risk levels can be reduced, with particular focus on the use of simulator training as a risk reducing measure. The final goal is to measure the risk towards acceptance criteria, which have been determined prior to conducting the analysis.publishedVersio