Servicing the Arctic. Report 1: Design requirements and operational profile of an Arctic Offshore Support Vessel: Literature Survey

Background The Dutch maritime industry has only limited knowledge about Arctic engineering, in spite of a growing market and interest by the oil and gas industry. This literature survey is the first in a series of three reports to develop a concept design of an Arctic Offshore Support Vessel (AOSV). The purpose is to give a perspective on Arctic shipping with a specific focus on offshore platform support and to provide a design framework for AOSVs. The information in this report is based on technical papers from the Internet, contact with different companies and Arctic courses from the Aalto University in Espoo, Finland. Results In general oil companies have a rising interest in the natural resource in the Arctic region. Next to their spending in Research and Development (R&D), also shipyards, suppliers and operators are eager to increase development for the harsh environments. This study shows, that every region in the Arctic has different weather and infrastructure conditions as well as different national laws and regulations. Next to that, operations in the harsh environment have high impact on the performance of the ship and its crew. This report gives an overview on technology available for operating in the Arctic, such as double acting hull, azimuth thrusting and other ice breaking technologies. Increasing research in Arctic engineering results in new, more reliable technologies and opens the possibility to design more advanced Arctic vessels. A big challenge in Arctic engineering is to have a optimal compromise between open water and ice behavior. Due to higher costs for among others R&D, material and equipment an AOSV will be more expensive. Operators, on the other hand, are also willing to pay more for them, because of the high amount of natural resources in the Arctic region. The expected focus of the industry is on Baffin Bay, Barents Sea and Beaufort Sea. This study discusses the estimated oil reserves, existing infrastructure and environmental impact. Also the operations an AOSV is likely to perform are given. Conclusions This report gives a wide overview on Arctic shipping. For most of its subjects more in depth research is needed to get a better understanding of the effects and specific demands of the Arctic. Nevertheless it is possible to develop AOSV that can operate in those three areas mentioned. But in the end a perfect AOSV cannot be made, it can only be optimized for some of the predefined requirements as stated in the operational profile.Marine & Transport TechnologyMechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineerin