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Norient Product Pool bet on Ice Tankers

To further strengthen its position within the Handy/MR (Medium Range) tanker segment, Norient Product Pool  has decided to extend its activities within the ice tanker market

The background is expectations of large increases in exports of crude oil and refined oil products from the White Sea, the Baltic Sea and the Eastern part of Russia in the coming years. For some time now, the pool participant, Interorient Navigation, has planned for this development, and hence its newbuilding programme is dominated by ice class tankers.

Special Demands

Owning and operating a modern fleet of ice class tankers differs from normal tanker operations in a number of ways. For instance, ice tankers need a strengthened hull and increased engine capacity, and the crew needs to have particular skills in navigation and procedures onboard during the extreme weather conditions.
The ice tankers are categorised in four classes depending on the thickness of the ice they are allowed to sail through: 1A Super: 1.0 m ice, 1A: 0.8m, 1B: 0.6 m, and 1C: 0.4 m. Today ( April 2006], NPP controls two class 1A, and eight class 1B ice tankers, and another five class 1A and four class 1B ice tankers are under construction.

Added Safety

To ensure transportation of high quality and safety, Interorient Navigation has chosen a number of extra facilities, which are beyond the demands for regular ice class tankers. For instance, the class 1A ice tankers of Interorient have stainless steel screw, deck winterisation of manifolds and mooring winches as well as air conditioning of the ballast tanks to avoid freezing of the ballast water.

Training in Ice Sailing

Simultaneously Interorient has invested in a new ice simulator training center in Riga, Latvia, which will be ready during the summer of 2006 for training of crew in ice sailing. The simulator will be an exact copy of the bridge at their ice class vessels.
To ensure knowledge about this specific type of transportation and the problems faced by the vessels, all land based employees of Norient Product Pool (operators and charterers) will have a co-sailing. Mr Thomas Hechmann – as the first of the colleagues – co-sailed with the ice class 1B tanker m.t. Baltic Wind through the ice to St. Petersburg - read his report here.


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