Towing in ice during escort
Series: Winter Navigation Research Reports ; 116Publication details: Helsingfors : Styrelsen för vintersjöfartsforskning, 2022Description: 61 sISBN:- 9789523117860
This project has aimed to evaluate towing practices and towing forces for existing and new bow types, specifically EEDI bow types, to determine if there are challenges to towing in ice which can be addressed by updates to existing requirements, rules or best practice documents. The evaluation was undertaken using feedback from operators of EEDI compliant merchant ships, feedback from captains of icebreakers that have undertaken towing in ice of EEDI compliant vessels, a review of mooring arrangements of EEDI compliant vessels and an analysis of the towing forces using force-vector analysis. In addition, the Aker Arctic Ice Simulator, usually used for training crews operating icebreakers, was used to simulate towing forces. Due to COVID19 restrictions a number of planned activities associated with direct observation of towing in ice (both onboard the icebreaker and merchant vessels) were subsequently cancelled. The project has therefore drawn the majority of its practical conclusions from interviews.