ICGV Þór

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ICGV Þór arriving at the port of Reykjavik on 27 October 2011
Career (Iceland)
Name: ICGV Þór
Namesake: Thor
Ordered: 2006
Builder: ASMAR Naval Shipyard, Talcahuano, Chile
Laid down: 2008
Launched: 29 April 2009
Commissioned: 23 September 2011
In service: 2011-
General characteristics
Class & type: Rolls-Royce Marine AS "UT 512 L" type offshore patrol vessel
Displacement: 3,920 t (4,321 st)
Length: 93.80 m (307.7 ft)
Beam: 16 m (52 ft)
Height: 30 m (98 ft)
Draught: 5.80 m (19.0 ft)
Installed power: 2 × 4,500 kW Rolls Royce Bergen diesel
Propulsion:
  • 2 × 450 kW bow tunnel thrusters and one in the aft
  • 883 kW retractable azimuth thruster
Speed: 20.1 knots (37.2 km/h; 23.1 mph)
Boats & landing
craft carried:		 2 MOB boats
Complement: 48
Sensors and
processing systems:		 1 × S-band radar, 2 × X-band radar
Synthetic aperture sonar
Armament: 1 × 40 mm Bofors
Aviation facilities: Helicopter in-flight refuelling capabilities (HIFR).
Notes: Bollard pull: 120 t (132.3 st)

The ICGV Þór (Thor) is an UT 512L type offshore patrol vessel designed by Rolls Royce for the Icelandic Coast Guard, built to replace the aging ICGV Óðinn. The construction of the ship was approved by the Icelandic government on 4 March 2005. Construction of the ship began at the ASMAR Naval Shipyard in Talcahuano, Chile on 16 October 2007. Construction was delayed by over a year due to the 2010 Chilean earthquake, but damage to the structure of the ship was not as detrimental as had been expected. After repairs, the ICGV Þór was delivered to ICG personnel on 23 September 2011 in Chile. She arrived in Reykjavík on 27 October 2011. Its main tasks are EEZ patrol, fishery inspection and search and rescue support. The ship is named after the Norse god Thor.

Origins

The origins of the ship date back to 4 March 2005, in a proposal drafted by then-Minister of Justice and Ecclesiastical Affairs (which is now a nonexistent entity),[1] Björn Bjarnason, regarding the purchase of a new vessel, in order to replace the aging ICGV Óðinn, and aircraft for the Icelandic Coast Guard. The Althing decided that this was an exigent matter, and so a high priority was placed upon the proposal.[2] A needs analysis pertaining to the acquisition of a multi-purpose vessel and aircraft for the ICG was initiated on 31 September 2005. The main demands were that the vessel should be designed for rescue work and patrolling, pollution prevention, fuelling search and rescue helicopters in flight, and meeting civil defence requirements anywhere around the country. In addition, it was to be equipped for response to, and prevention of, terrorist threats and be suitable for operations involving the police or customs authorities, and for all types of rescue and salvage work. The bollard pull of the vessel was to take account of the greatly increased volume of passenger and cargo shipping in Iceland’s economic zone and coastal waters.[2]

Construction

Bids for the construction of the ship were open to application and submission at the State Trading Centre. After processing through the STC, the bids were to be submitted dually to the Ministry of Justice and Ecclesiastical Affairs and the ICG. 15 bids were received from 12 countries. The winning bid was the second bid of ASMAR, Chile's largest shipbuilding corporation.[3] The contract for the construction of the new vessel was signed on 20 December 2006 by Björn, Árni M. Mathiesen, Minister of Finance, and Georg Kr. Lárusson, Director of the ICG,[4] and Carlos Fanta de la Vega, Rear Admiral of the Chilean Navy and Director of the ASMAR Naval Shipyard.[5] Construction commenced on 16 October 2007. The ship was launched on 29 April 2009 at a ceremony in the ASMAR Naval Shipyard in Talcahuano. The then-unnamed vessel received the official name Þór, or Thor, after the god Thor.[2]

Design

The ICGV Þór's design is concurrent with that of the NoCGV Harstad; in fact, both vessels were designed by Rolls Royce plc. The vessel is powered by two Rolls Royce Marine Bergen diesel engines. The ship's propellers are two Rolls Royce Marine KaMeWa Ulstein feathering propellers (feathering propellers are rotated parallel to the water flow in order to reduce drag).[6] The ship is 93.8 metres (308 feet) long overall, a 16 metres (52 feet) wide, and a has a height of 30 metres (98 feet). The maximum speed of the vessel is 19.5 knots (36.1 kilometres per hour; 22.4 miles per hour), while its towing capacity, or bollard pull, is 120 tonnes (120 long tons; 130 short tons). The cargo deck covers 300 square metres (3,200 square feet). The vessel is outfitted with various life-saving equipment, designed to aid it in rescue missions, including two MOB boats and six Viking life rafts. Other specially-designed equipment the vessel is outfitted with includes oil booms, 1 × 40 mm Bofors gun, and oil skimmers.[7]

2010 tsunami incident

Ship arriving in Reykjavik

In 2010, a magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck Chile, forming an immense tsunami that left a lethiferous wake along the Chilean coastline. It was feared that the ICGV Þór would have been damaged beyond repair in the disaster, as the shipyard itself was known to have incurred massive damage. Despite the odds, the ship had sustained minimal damage. After being placed in dry dock for minor repairs, the vessel was delivered, albeit more than a year late.[2]

Delivery

After being fully repaired following the earthquake and the ensuing tsunami, the ICGV Þór was delivered to ICG authorities and personnel at the ASMAR shipyard on 23 September 2011.[2] The ship then embarked on the voyage to Reykjavik harbour, and was slated to arrive in late October of the same year. After making stops in cities such as Halifax, the ship finally arrived in Reykjavik on 27 October 2011.[8] The vessel maintains a complement (number of personnel onboard the ship) of 48.[2]

Gallery

  • Arrival in Reykjavik

  • Icelandic Coat Guard personnel and the President of Iceland, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson

  • Aboard the vessel

  • Boarding the ship while docked in Reykjavik harbour

  • Side view of the vessel

  • The vessel's conning tower

  • ICG personnel on the vessel

  • ICG officer standing on vessel

  • Bow of the vessel

  • Another view of the vessel

  • The vessel's arrival in Reykjavik

  • ICG protocol in practice

  • ICG greeting visitors of the vessel

  • Vessel moored in the port of Reykjavik

  • Another side view of the vessel

References

  1. ↑ "Frumvarp til laga um Stjórnarráð Íslands." [Bill regarding the Cabinet of Iceland.]. Legal Code (in Icelandic). Parliament of Iceland. Retrieved 13 November 2012. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 The Coastguard Vessel ÞÓR. Icelandic Coast Guard. Retrieved 2013-05-07. 
  3. ↑ Lamor News Reel (PDF). Lamor. Mar 2012. Retrieved 2013-05-07. 
  4. ↑ "Speaker Information: Rear Admiral Georg Kr. Lárusson". Arctic Patrol and Reconnaissance. Retrieved 7 May 2013. 
  5. ↑ "Carlos Fanta De La Vega". Armada de Chile. Retrieved 7 May 2013. 
  6. ↑ "Feathering Propeller North America". Retrieved 7 May 2013. 
  7. ↑ IGCV R multipurpose vessel (PDF). Icelandic Coast Guard. Retrieved 2013-05-07. 
  8. ↑ "ICGV Þór". Man Overboard Recovery Systems. Retrieved 7 May 2013. 

External links

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