Category Archives: Arctic

Finland Seeks Unique Warship

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Hamina-luokka_Hanko

Photo: Hamina class missile boat Hanko (82) by kallerna, 2009

NavyRecognition reports, the Finnish Navy is looking for some small warships with unique characteristics.

Finnish Minister of Defence, Jussi Niinistö, has given the Defence Forces a mandate to start the Finnish Navy project, Squadron 2020. The aim of the Squadron 2020 project is to construct four new corvette-size fighting ships for year-round operation in the special weather and ice conditions at the Baltic Sea (emphasis applied–Chuck).

The Request for Information informs shipyards about the project and inquires know-how and price information from shipbuilders and suppliers to base the Request for Quote on. The RFI was sent out on 18 December 2015 and answers are requested by the end of March next year.

The expected cost for the four is 1.2B Euros or abut $1.31 B. Right now the Offshore Patrol Cutter is probably the closest thing to what they are looking for, but in all probability the final design will be both smaller and much better armed. The Finns have shown an ability to cram a lot of fight into very small packages, but then, they have no need for the long range that is a characteristic of most Coast Guard or US Navy ships.

Their Hamina class patrol craft (wikipedia here) which are smaller than our Webber class (268 tons vs 353 tons fl) are equipped with a 57 mm gun, both a radar and an optronic fire control system, an EADS-TRS-3D multi-mode radar just like the National Security Cutter, an eight cell vertical launch system for anti-aircraft missiles, four anti-ship cruise missiles, ESM, and sonar. They have an aluminum hull, a composite superstructure, and NBC protection. They also have an RHIB ramp in the stern.

Russian Navy Primer–USNI

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If you are interested in being up to speed on the Russian Navy, the US Naval Institute has provided access to an Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) briefing book on the Russian Navy.

“Cdr Salamander” provides an intro to the publication on the US Naval Institute Blog. 

Unfortunately I did not see anything about the Russian Coast Guard in my initial scan of the document. It is a not insignificant force.

On page 5, where you see the 1000 mile rings that the document suggest the Russians have a special interest in, you might notice that one includes most of Alaska.

It is a nice, readable update.

 

Coast Guard Polar Icebreaker Modernization: Background and Issues for Congress–Updated

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POLAR SEA and POLAR STAR side by side in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica

The US Naval Institute News Service has provided a copy of the Dec. 14, 2015 Congressional Research Service report, “Coast Guard Polar Icebreaker Modernization: Background and Issues for Congress,” by Naval Ronald O’Rourke.

This updates a series of earlier reports.

It is quite clear from the report that even if things go as planned, which I doubt it will, we will have a period of two to six years when we will have only one medium icebreaker and no heavy icebreakers.

If we do as currently planned, we will not see a new icebreaker until at least 2024.

We have looked at alternatives that might carry us through until the US can truly recapitalize its current fleet.

We can renovate Polar Sea. Clearly Congress is running out of patience waiting for a decision about what to do with this ship. We ought to ask for the funds to renovate it one way or the other.

We can lease one or two of these excess icebreakers. We could put one in the Great Lakes to satisfy those interests and it could in worst case exit the Great Lakes and go to the assistance of a polar icebreaker or break into resupply Thule airbase in Greenland.

Both of these are relatively low cost options. They deserve serious consideration.

USNI Publishes “Arctic Issue”

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The US Naval Institute, has, for what I believe is the first time, published an issue of “Proceedings” that is dominated by discussion of the Arctic.

Pages 18 to 37 are devoted to the Arctic, including four articles and a sidebar. I think that is at least as much as they devoted to the Coast Guard, in the “Coast Guard Issue.”

Only one of these articles is available on line to non-members, “Geopolitical Icebergs,” by Dr. Auerswald, a professor of security studies at the National War College.

The other articles, also available on-line to members are:

  • “Defending Polar Access”
  • “More Access for the Arctic”
  • “A Mechanism for Arctic Crisis Response”

Throughout there is a call for more resources, particularly icebreakers.

The last short article, “A Mechanism for Arctic Crisis Response,” advocates positioning a structure in the Chukchi Sea. I can’t help but think putting the resources on land might be a bit easier in the long run.

Or alternately, modify the Polar Sea, as I have suggested, and use her for that purpose.

Now, These Are Heavy Icebreakers

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The Iceberg Design Bureau is going to deliver three Project 22220 nuclear-powered icebreakers before 2020. It also is designing other advanced nuclear-powered icebreakers, Iceberg Director General/Chief Designer Alexander Ryzhkov told TASS on Thursday.

Artist impression of nuclear powered dual displacement icebreaker “Arktika” (project 22220)
Image: Atomflot

NavyRecognition reports that Russia claims they will have three more nuclear powered icebreakers by 2020 (when the US plans to start building it first new heavy icebreaker since 1977). They also announced plans for two more classes of nuclear icebreakers and a floating nuclear power plant.

The new icebreakers are expected to have a power of 120 MW or more than twice the power of the Polar Star.

Australia to Build a Polar Icebreaker

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An artist's impression of Australia's new icebreaker.

Thanks to Tups for bringing this to my attention. He mentioned it in comments on an earlier post, but I felt it warranted a separate post.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports, the Australian Government is close to a “decision to select a British-based operator and Dutch shipyard for Australia’s $1 billion Antarctic icebreaker project.” gCaptain provides additional details and more images.

The new 156-metre long, 23,800-tonne vessel will have increased cargo and marine science capability but is expected to carry around the same number of passengers.

Its crucial ice-breaking capacity will give it the power to steam through 1.65-metre ice, compared to Aurora‘s 1.23 metres.

The $1B may sound familiar, about what the USCG expects to spend on a new Polar Icebreaker, but in fact that includes its full lifecycle cost and these are Australian $$, so in fact it is more like $710M. Presumably there will be savings because the ship will be built in Romania.

Perhaps inevitably the procurement process has been criticized. That there is only one bidder and the ship will not be built in Australia, both cause concern.

The ship is expected to operate out of Hobart, Tasmania.

The ship appears narrower than conventional icebreakers. It appears to be a hybrid, combining cargo, research, and icebreaking functions in a single relatively large ship.

Australia’s claims on Antarctica (held in abeyance now because of treaty) are extensive. Looking at the diagram below, they appear to include about half of the larger Eastern half of Antarctica. It may be that their stations are more accessible than those of the US. Their stations lie close to the Antarctic Circle while McMurdo is about 600 miles closer to the pole. In the Northern hemisphere the North coast of Iceland and the Bering Strait are on about the same latitude as their Antarctic stations.

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“Opinion: Coast Guard Budget Reductions Puts U.S. at Risk”–USNI

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The US Naval Institute has a nice opinion piece by a retired Navy Rear Admiral, advocating restoration of funding cut from the Coast Guard budget over the last few years, and not incidentally greater number of National Security Cutters (NSC) to replace the High Endurance Cutters.

This is not the Admiral’s first editorial advocating for the Coast Guard. Whatever his affiliation, his opinions are on point, and I would really like to see the Congress add a ninth NSC to the budget

Shipping LNG in the Arctic

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We have some indication, we will soon see LNG being shipped in the Arctic. gCaptain reports an apparent intention of a Chinese/Greek consortium to build five ice capable LNG tankers for the transport of Russian LNG via the Arctic.

If these ships actually use an Arctic route to China, it will almost certainly be via the Northern Sea Route close to Russia rather than the North West Passage near Canada and the US, but both routes must exit very close to Alaska as the traffic moves through the 45 mile wide Bering Strait and past the Diomedes and St. Lawrence Island.

There is no indication of how large these proposed LNG tankers are, but take a look at the size of the tanks on this LNG tanker in this photo, one of several you can find at this gCaptain post.

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Yes, those are people casting the shadows.

Icebreaking Mega-Yacht

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gCaptain reports a proposal from Damen and Dutch luxury superyacht builder AMELS, offering a line of icebreaking Mega-Yachts sized 65, 90, and 100 meters in length. The design incorporates a double-acting hull, capable of breaking ice stern-first and an “Axe Bow” for good seakeeping in ice-free seas.

The basic hull form might make a decent Arctic Patrol Cutter.