I
InnovatIon
32 DECEMBER 2015/JANUARY 2016 www.vanguardcanada.com
LR teams pioneeR seRies
of gLobaL icebReakeRs
Rob Hindley, LR's Lead
Specialist for Arctic Technology.
Lloyd's Register is supporting the building of a series of
polar icebreaker projects from Vancouver to Korea, reports
Rob Hindley, LR's Lead Specialist for Arctic Technology
The Arctic ice cap in March this year was the lowest monthly
average since satellite records began, figures from the National
Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) show.
In the same month air temperatures reached record highs at
two Antarctica stations in the warmest recorded spell in that con-
tinent.
Such news stories have not been uncommon in recent years
where records over a relatively short measurement period con-
tinue to be broken. Real and apparent decreases in Arctic ice
cover – particularly during the summer – continue to fuel specu-
lation that the region is the next frontier for shipping, a potential
shortcut between Asia and Europe and exposure to untapped oil,
gas and mineral exportation projects.
However the real situation is more complex. A recent report
from the UK House of Lords Select Committee – which includ-
ed expert evidence from Lloyd's Register (LR) specialists – shows
that a very small number of ships use Arctic transits for voyages
between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans as an alternative route to
the Panama and Suez canals, and this only tends to happen dur-
ing the summer season.
Although shipping in the Arctic – and particularly the Russian
Arctic – is likely to increase, it will be mainly export shipping for
dedicated natural resources projects.
What typically determines the use of shipping in Arctic sea ice
is the balance between open water and ice efficiency. This is one
a significant deciding factor when considering the overall eco-
nomic viability of large Arctic projects.
