Power and automation technology group ABB, has received
endorsement from two leading Russian customers on the
performance of Azipod propulsion in the harshest
environments in the marine sector.
The impending fourth anniversary of the delivery of the
ice breaking tug Polar Pevek has prompted the vessel’s
technical management company OOO Polarus to offer its
approval of Azipod propulsion technology as the “right
choice” for extreme ice conditions.
Delivered by Aker Langsten in June 2006, the 940dwt Polar
Pevek is owned through the GC Rieber Shipping/Primorsk
Shipping Corp joint venture Polar Pevek Ltd, registered in
Cyprus. The DnV Ice 10 IB offers 115 tonnes of bollard pull
ahead, and 95 tonnes astern. At 74.6m long, the vessel
features generators, main switchboard, propulsion drives and
two 5 MW Azipod units, all supplied by ABB.
Helge Skarshaug, OOO Polarus general director said:
“During four years of operation at the DeKastri oil terminal
as an ice breaking tug, Polar Pevek has not experienced any
unscheduled docking. Azipod propulsion has proven to be
the right choice.” Skarshaug also said that, as the company’s
sole ice breaker, Polar Pevek had been deployed as a multipurpose
vessel, undertaking ice management duties, oil spill
response, towage, and mooring assistance. “The Azipod
technology has shown itself to work to our satisfaction in all
of these applications.”
Already operational in the Sakhalin field for the last five
years has been Fesco Sakhalin, operated by Far East Shipping
Company. The 3,950 dwt, DnV Ice 10 IB provides a further
endorsement of Azipod technology in ice conditions.
Delivered in 2005 by Aker Finnyards, the 99.9m long Fesco
Sakhalin features an ABB main switchboard, generators and
propulsion drives, but in this case two 6.5 MW Azipod units.
Operating in the Sakhalin oilfield, Fesco Sakhalin faces drift ice
coming from Arctic waters, with ice broken of thicknesses of
up to 150cm.
FESCO superintendent, Konstatin Opolonik, said: “Fesco
Sakhalin has operated for over five years in a difficult ice
environment. During this period there has not been any
off-hire time and only minor challenges with technical
equipment. We have been able to solve them because of the
vessel’s skilled crew and the co-operation with ABB and its
partners. FESCO is satisfied with the performance and
reliability of the Azipod propulsion system.”
ABB’s Azipod propulsion units have accumulated more
than five million operating hours in some of the most
demanding marine applications, including icebreakers and ice
breaking cargo vessels, luxury cruise ships, research and
offshore supply vessels, as well as drilling rigs, ferries and
megayachts. The on-duty availability of the Azipod system in
these vessels is about 99.8 %.
ABB is a specialist in power and automation technologies
that enable utility and industry customers to improve
performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB
Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and
employs about 117,000 people.