Arctic design for the Nordic route
Although a number of big carriers have turned down the idea of sailing the Northern Route from Asia via the Arctic to Europe, this option is still on the table. Nevertheless, very few container carrying ships could sail Arctic waters, as such voyages also require ice-classed hulls.
Finnish ship designer Aker Arctic just presented a study on an ice-breaking Arctic mega container ship. “No such type of container ship has been available before,” commented Luigi Portunato, naval architect with Aker Arctic.
The design shows an 8,000 teu container ship for use in both summer and winter along the Northern Sea Route. The ship has an Arc7 ice-strengthened hull, an ice-breaking bow and other design features for cold-weather operations.
It is a double-acting ship that can turn the stern first for sailings in heavy ice. In thin ice, or ice-free waters, the 300 m long ship sails like all other vessels with the front first.
Since the Northern Sea Route north of Russia, is about 40% shorter when sailing from China to central European ports than the Suez Canal route, the Suez Canal incident brings the idea back to mind. (cd)