| Career | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Fennica |
| Owner: | Finnish Maritime Administration (1993–2004) Finstaship (2004–2010) Arctia Offshore (2010–)[1] |
| Port of registry: | Helsinki, Finland[1] |
| Builder: | Finnyards Ltd., Rauma, Finland[1] |
| Yard number: | 401[1] |
| Laid down: | 21 April 1992[1] |
| Launched: | 10 September 1992[1] |
| Completed: | 1 March 1993[1] |
| Identification: | Call sign: OJAD[1] IMO number: 9043615[1] |
| Status: | In service |
| General characteristics [1] | |
| Type: | Icebreaker/Platform supply vessel |
| Class notation: | DNV 1A1 POLAR-10 Icebreaker Tug Supply Vessel SF HELDK EPR E0 DYNPOS-AUTR |
| Tonnage: | 9,088 GT 2,727 NT 1,650 to 4,800 DWT |
| Length: | LOA 116 m (381 ft) LBP 96.7 m (317 ft) |
| Beam: | 26 m (85 ft) |
| Draft: | 7–8.4 m (23–27.6 ft)[2] |
| Depth: | 12.5 m (41 ft) |
| Ice class: | POLAR-10 Icebreaker |
| Main generators: | 2 × Wärtsilä 16V32D (2 × 6,000 kW) 2 × Wärtsilä 12V32D (2 × 4,500 kW) |
| Propulsion: | 2 × Aquamaster US ARC 1 (2 × 7,500 kW) 3 × Brunvoll bow thrusters (3 × 1,150 kW) |
| Speed: | 16.5 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph) (max) 11–13 knots (20–24 km/h; 13–15 mph) (service) 9.5 knots (17.6 km/h; 10.9 mph) in 80 cm (31 in) ice[3] |
| Crew: | Accommodation for 77 personnel |
| Aviation facilities: | Helipad and hangar |
MSV Fennica is a Finnish multipurpose icebreaker and platform supply vessel. Built in 1993 by Finnyards in Rauma, Finland and operated by Arctia Offshore, she was the first Finnish icebreaker designed to be used as an escort icebreaker in the Baltic Sea during the winter months and offshore construction works during the open water season. The Fennica has an identical sister ship, Nordica, built in 1994.
Contents |
The maximum overall length of the Fennica is 116 metres (380.6 ft) and her length between perpendiculars is 96.7 metres (317.3 ft). The hull has a moulded breadth of 26 metres (85.3 ft) and depth of 12.5 metres (41.0 ft). Her draught varies between 7 and 8.4 metres (23.0 and 27.6 ft), being less in icebreaking operations than in offshore work. The gross tonnage of the Fennica is 9,088, net tonnage 2,727 and deadweight tonnage ranging between 1,650 and 4,800 tons depending on the draft.[1][2] The ship weighs 7,935 tons and has a maximum displacement of 12,800 tons.[4]
The Fennica is classified by Det Norske Veritas with a class notation 1A1 POLAR-10 Icebreaker Tug Supply Vessel SF HELDK EPR E0 DYNPOS-AUTR.[1] Her ice class, POLAR-10, means that her hull is strengthened for unassisted operation in the Arctic, sub-Arctic and Antarctic regions, where the vessel can encounter winter ice with a nominal thickness of 1 metre (3.3 ft), pressure ridges, multi-year ice floes and glacial ice inclusions. The additional class notation "Icebreaker" states that she has no limitations for repeated ramming.[5] To improve the maneuverability of the ship in ice her hull is wider at the bow than in the stern. These "reamers" increase the width of the ice channel and reduce friction between the hull and ice.[6] In addition the forward part of the hull has explosion-welded stainless steel ice belt that reduces friction and protects the steel plates from abrasion.[7]
For offshore construction projects the Fennica is equipped with a Hydralift crane capable of lifting 30 tons at a radius of 11 metres (36 ft) or 15 tons at 20 metres (66 ft). She also has a smaller MacGregor crane capable of lifting 5 tons at 14 metres (46 ft) or 1.5 tons at 30 metres (98 ft). The vessel can also be equipped with a 120-ton A-frame for trenching machines and ploughs. The Fennica has a helipad and a small hangar, and can accommodate 48 workers in addition to the ship's crew. Since the Fennica acts as an escort icebreaker during the winter season, she is also equipped with a Aquamaster-Rauma anchor handling and towing winch, and stern notch for assisting merchant ships.[4] The oblique bridge maximizes visibility from the starboard side steering position.[8]
The Fennica has a diesel-electric propulsion system with four main generators. She has two twelve-cylinder Wärtsilä Vasa 12V32D and two sixteen-cylinder 16V32D four-stroke medium-speed diesel engines driving Strömberg alternators, the former producing 4,500 kW (6,000 hp) and the latter 6,000 kW (8,000 hp) each. The main engines are also equipped with exhaust gas economizers.[4] In late 2011 they were also retrofitted with catalytic converters and urea spraying systems to reduce NOx emissions.[9] While designed according to the power plant principle in which the main generators produce power for all shipboard consumers, the Fennica has one auxiliary diesel generator that can be used to produce electricity when the ship is at port. The four-cylinder Wärtsilä Vasa 4R22 4-stroke medium-speed diesel engine has an output of 710 kW (950 hp) at 1,000 rpm. In addition she has a twelve-cylinder Caterpillar 3412 DISA emergency diesel generator with an output of 300 kW (400 hp) at 1,500 rpm.[1]
While underway, the fuel consumption of the main engines is 42 tons of heavy fuel oil or diesel per day at 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph) or 30 tons per day at 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph), giving the vessel an operating time of 45 to 67 days depending on the speed. During dynamic positioning operations the fuel consumption is 15 tons per day and the operating time depends on the distance and speed of transit to location.[4] In late 2011 the fuel system was converted for the use of ultra-low-sulfur diesel.[9]
The Fennica is propelled by two Aquamaster US ARC 1 Z-drive azimuth thrusters with 4.2-metre (14 ft) ducted fixed-pitch stainless steel propellers. The 177-ton[10] thrusters, driven by ABB Strömberg AC/AC propulsion motors rated at 7,500 kW, considerably improve the maneuverability of the icebreaker. This is especially useful during escort and assistance operations in difficult ice conditions when the icebreaker has to operate at close proximity to other vessels at low speeds. When delivered, she was the first large icebreaker to be equipped with such propulsion system and her maneuverability was often described to be superior to older icebreakers with traditional shaftlines and rudders.[2][11][12] Together with three 1,150 kW Brunvoll FU-80 LTC-2250 variable-pitch bow thrusters the azimuth thrusters also allow dynamic positioning during offshore operations.[4]
The maximum speed of the Fennica is 16.5 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph) in open water and she can maintain a speed of 9.5 knots (17.6 km/h; 10.9 mph) on 80 centimetres (31 in) level ice. Her bollard pull is 230 tons.[4]
The development of the Finnish multipurpose icebreakers began in the mid-1980s when the Finnish National Board of Navigation launched a project to find secondary uses for the new vessels it was planning to build as a replacement for some of the oldest icebreakers. Until then the Finnish icebreakers had been designed solely for escort operations in ice-infested waters and their specialized hull form was not suitable for open water. As a result the existing icebreakers had an effective operational time of only three to five months per year and spent the summer season moored at Katajanokka in Helsinki. A multipurpose application of the new icebreakers would thus result in a better utilization of the vessels and, assuming they were chartered by a commercial third party during the summer, improve the economics of the state-owned fleet.[13][14]
However, the concept did not become reality until the early 1990s, when the Norwegian company Ugland Offshore AS (later DSND Offshore AS) became involved in the project to develop and construct multipurpose icebreakers that could be used for offshore operations in the oil fields during the summer months. The concept was developed by the Board of Navigation together with a Finnish consulting engineering company ILS and the contract for the construction of the first vessel with an option for a sister ship was signed with Finnyards in October 1991. The second vessel was ordered in June 1992.[15] The first Finnish multipurpose icebreaker, Fennica, was delivered in 1993 and her sister ship, Nordica, in the following year.[13][14]
In 1997 a third multipurpose icebreaker was ordered from Finnyards. The ship, delivered in 1998 as Botnica, was slightly smaller than the previous Finnish multipurpose icebreakers and had several other differences, such as twelve Caterpillar high-speed diesel engines instead of medium-speed units and Azipod electric azimuth thrusters instead of the ducted Z-drive Aquamasters.[16] As of 2011[update] the Botnica remains the newest state-owned icebreaker of Finland.
In the early 2000s the managing director Kyösti Vesterinen and several other high-ranking members of the Finnish Maritime Administration were caught in a bribery scandal when it was found out that DSND Offshore, the charterer of the Finnish multipurpose icebreakers, had offered them several private trips around the world. At the same time the offshore company, which had failed to make payments for the charters in time, was forgiven 153,000 euros of penalty interests. As a result Vesterinen and two other officials were found guilty for corruption and as a result lost their positions, were given suspended sentences of four to ten months and had to pay back the unlawfully obtained benefits.[17][18][19] The incident ended the co-operation between DSND and the Finnish Maritime Administration and left many people suspicious about the profitability of the multipurpose icebreakers.[20]
The state-owned shipping company Arctia Shipping Oy and its predecessors have been heavily criticized over the years for the financial losses from the offshore business. Due to design compromises the Finnish multipurpose icebreakers are unable to compete with purpose-built platform supply vessels — the open-water performance of the spoon-shaped bow is very poor due to slamming. As a result the ships have been left without contracts and have spent long periods of time in foreign ports even during the Finnish winter navigation season, forcing the Finnish Government to hire icebreakers from the commercial market to keep the ports open.[20][21][22][23] However, according to an internal memorandum of the Finnish Maritime Administration the offshore business, while not profitable, has covered at least some of the expenses from icebreaking during the winter seasons in the late 1990s, resulting in lower overall operating costs for the multipurpose icebreakers than for traditional icebreakers.[24]
The Finnish multipurpose icebreakers have also been criticized for their lower icebreaking capability when compared to traditional icebreakers from the 1970s and 1980s despite the advantages of the azimuth thrusters. The Aquamaster thrusters also require considerably more maintenance and the ducted propellers suffer from clogging when the icebreaker is operating in brash ice channels.[8]
|
|||||||||||