ON EARTH AND IN THE SKY

Safety is our main goal

Nikolay Reshetov
General Director
Russian Maritime Register of Shipping

         Freight and passenger transportation on the Arctic seas requires special navigation safety and ship reliability.
        The oil and gas extraction from new shelf deposits in the Russian North Sea call for the construction of offshore drilling platforms and complex engineering structures. Special Arctic ships and icebreakers are needed to carry oil, gas, nickel, copper and other raw materials throughout northern Russia. These vessels are also needed for the transportation of transit cargo from Europe to the Far East along the Northern Sea Route and for the delivery of goods to Russia's northern ports. In accordance with government rulings, the Russian Maritime Shipping Register works as a complex engineering center. The Register unifies the technologies and equipment of ships and offshore platforms. Its goal is to improve navigation safety and to preserve the Arctic marine environment.
        The government's decision was not accidental. According to the merchant shipping code, the Register is Russia's only government institution responsible for the technical supervision and classification of vessels. The Register has ample experience in marine operations in the North and on this basis, constantly improves the requirements for vessel classification and construction while also developing new ones. The purpose of this work is to provide safety in navigation and to protect the environment. The Register goal is to guarantee the safety of a vessel under permissible sailing conditions. Under contract with the Lucoil Arctic Tanker Company and in accordance with the Register's requirements, a series of Arctic tankers for ice navigation is being constructed in German dockyards and in the St. Petersburg Admiralty shipyard.
        The Register collaborates with international organizations connected with the problems of Arctic navigation. For instance, it cooperates with a team from the International Marine Organization, which is developing the International Safety Code for Vessels in Arctic Waters. The Register is also a member of the International Association of Classification Societies, which participates in the development of standard requirements for all Arctic vessels.
         The Register's scientific research on this topic has resulted in the creation of specialized computing techniques and computer programs. By the end of the XX century, these classification societies began to use statistical probability methods for risk evaluation in the exploitation of vessels and drilling platforms. This is especially important for the construction of ice-resistant drilling platforms that extract oil and gas from the Arctic shelf. In this regard, the Register has begun to study statistical probability methods that foresee extreme situations and evaluate possible risks in the exploitation of ships and marine constructions. The goal of this study is to minimize risk factors on the Arctic drilling rigs.
        Sailing along the Northern Sea Route has always been dangerous, as it is partially covered with ice. For this reason, the Register is presently developing a new project together with the Krylov Central Research Institute, the Central Research Institute of the Marine Fleet, and the Institute of the Arctic and Antarctica. The purpose of this project is to evaluate, anticipate and lower the risks for ships sailing along the Northern Sea Route.