Lightweight vessels are crucial in order to minimize the amount of fuel needed to operate. However, present laws have been demanding heavy steel constructions in order to get the certificates needed to operate all year around. Strong leightweight composite structures are available on the market, but are they strong enough to present a safe hull alternative for vessels operating in different types of ice?
One of the most commonly referred obstacles, when discussing modern, rational and well-designed waterborne transport systems are uncertainties in relation to winter navigation.
High speed vessels are constructed according to the high speed craft codes. These codes enable light ship structures, which are necessary for effective operation of fast vessels. However, without taking ice loads into account.
In this LightICE prestudy, Experimental investigation of an accidental ice impact on an aluminium high speed craft, the influence of the structural stiffness as well as the limited change in the maximum force at different energy levels during the impact is discussed.
Operational Time Window (OTW) and its confidence level are important for vessels operating in ice covered waters. This was evaluated in Statistical Estimation of Uncertainties Associated with Ship Operations in Fresh Water Ice, pdf-file
In the project Efficient hulls on icy inland waterways led by KTH the relevant work continues concerning the challenges of operations in icy inland waterways.
That project aims to show and communicate how different materials, material concepts and structural arrangements are more or less suitable in ship hulls in Nordic IWW conditions.
LightICE was co-financed by the Swedish Transport Agency – Transportstyrelsen i samband med PNF, Projekt Nationella Föreskrifter och de nya reglerna för nationell sjöfart, since a better decision basis on this subject is relevant in their Project for National Rules.
På Transportstyrelsen genomfördes ett projekt där hela regelverket för svenska handelsfartyg ska ses över. Målsättningen är att ta fram ett modernt funktionsbaserat regelverk och ett effektivt tillsynssystem för att skapa goda förutsättningar för en långsiktig och hållbar verksamhet.