seatec - Finnish marine technology review 1/2011 | Page 4

PUBLISHER PubliCo Oy Pälkäneentie 19 A FI-00510 Helsinki Finland Phone [phone] Fax [phone] [email protected] www.publico.com EDITORIAL COORDINATOR Mirkka Lindroos editorial seatec 1/2011 PROJECT MANAGER Risto Valkeapää CONTRIBUTORS Sami J. Anteroinen Merja Kihl Ari Mononen ARCTIC CRUISING IS COMING GRAPHIC DESIGN Climate statistics reveal that the yearly retreat of arctic ice is rapid- A5 Plate Media Oy ly increasing. This is a big problem for ice bears but an interesting possibility for arctic navigation and also for arctic cruise business. COVER PHOTO Royal Caribbean International There are still limited amount of ice-free days per year, which means that the vessel technology has to ensure efficient and safe AD SALES navigation. Ship designs need to fulfil a number of technical re- Paul Charpentier Phone [phone] Fax [phone] [email protected] quirements regarding hull form, ice strengthening, propulsion pow- Risto Valkeapää Phone [phone] Fax [phone] [email protected] issue very seriously by setting up an extensive R&D program into er and winterisation. Class societies such as Bureau Veritas have been taking this arctic navigation. Good knowledge and experience of crews’ navigation in ice is an important part of cruising in arctic circumstances. Finland has a long history in ice navigation. For example, Aker PRINTED BY Arctic has solid knowledge and long experience with ice-classed PunaMusta Oy, February 2011 ships. This speciality area will be important also to Finnish shipyards in the hard competitions of cruise vessel construction business. One important indication that arctic navigation is, in fact, be- PubliCo is a member of the European Association of Directory and Database Publishers (EADP), ensuring quality and reliability for advertisers and users. coming a larger business, is that STX Finland Oy and United Ship- All rights reserved. This publication may not be used in whole or in part to prepare or compile other directories or mailing lists without the written permission of the publisher. Measures have been taken in the preparation of this publication to assist the publisher protect its copyright. Any unauthorized use of the data herein will result in immediate legal proceeding. new dimensions for shipbuilding and international marine busi- building Corporation (USC) have formed a joint venture company which will specialise in arctic shipbuilding technology. Discovery of large oil and gas reserves in the arctic region open up growth possibilities for shipping and offshore activities in arctic areas. New ship types and larger vessels are coming, opening quite ness. Arctic cruising is a growing business for companies which already arrange trips to the polar areas. RISTO VALKEAPÄÄ EDITOR-IN-CHIEF