Nordic Yards busy with work for Norilsk Nickel

Now fitting out alongside at Nordic Yards’  Wismar, Germany, shipyard, is an ice class tanker that Moscow headquartered MMC Norilsk Nickel will use in Northern Sea Route transportation. Execution of this project will allow the year-round supply of petrochemicals to Russia’s Norilsk Industrial Region as well as transportation of gas condensate to Europe from the Pelyatinskoe gas condensate deposit which is being developed by the company.

Construction of the  “Nordic AT 19” type icebreaking tanker began in July 2010. Next steps are the final completion of the machine room and superstructures before the ship is returned to the dock in the middle of July for the final work. Sea trials are set for  August and  delivery for the end of September.

“When a ship leaves the dock for the first time it is always a great moment,” says Vitaly Yusufov, owner and Managing Director of Nordic Yards (the successor to Wadan Yards). “Construction of one of the most technically sophisticated special tankers is being continued according to schedule. With this tanker  Nordic Yards is again demonstrating its skills in the special shipbuilding sector for Arctic regions.” 

The tanker will be breaking ice, up to 1.50 m thick, at a speed of 2 knots. Its open water speed is  15.3 knots. The Arctic class ARC7 vessel is designed for climatic conditions for temperatures down to -50°C. The tanker is about 170 m long and has a beam of approximately 23 m. With a deadweight of around 19,000 dwt it offers a cargo tank capacity of more  than 20,600 m•. The diesel electric machinery moves a podded propeller that can revolve through 360°.

With the tanker out of the covered building dock, Nordic Yards is using the facility to execute another order for Norilsk Nickel: a Euro 7 million containership modernization project that will be completed in mid-July. The diesel-electric vessel will be equipped with two Liebherr cargo cranes with a hoisting capacity of 45 tons, identical to those installed on Norilsk Nickel’s Nadezhda DEV.  Experience with using that vessel’s own cranes under offshore and fast ice conditions has proved positive. Having two vessels with their own cargo equipment will make them interchangeable.

The ship’s container carrying capacity will be increased by 68 20-ft containers and the number of reefer plugs will be increased from 42 to 69 units. Other upgrades include changing the port service generator and coating the underwater hull with an Intershield 163 ice-resistant two-component epoxy coating . Additionally, the vessel will be equipped with the ballast water treating equipment.

July 7, 2011