X-Bow ship travels northern sea route
‘Polarcus Alima’ – first X-Bow ship to transit the northern sea route
A ship designed by Ulstein of Norway, the seismic ship ‘Polarcus Alima’, which features the company’s X-Bow, recently transited from Norway to the Asia-Pacific region via the northern sea route (NSR).
Polarcus Alima is a 12-streamer 3D seismic vessel of the SX134 design, built at Drydocks World of Dubai. Vessels making the passage are required to hold an ICE-1A or higher ice class. Ulstein says that this is the first known passage of a 3D seismic vessel along the Northern Sea Route.
Her passage commenced on 15 September from Hammerfest in Norway after completion of seismic operations in the Barents Sea. After nine days and 3,000 nautical miles the vessel reached Cape Dezhnev in the Bering Straits. She is presently continuing her onward passage to New Zealand to commence operations there. The expected time savings in transit between Norway and New Zealand compared to the traditional route through the Panama Canal amounts to some eight days. The savings versus the Suez Canal, a necessity for some larger seismic vessels, amounts to 13 days.
Preparations for the voyage were carried out in close cooperation with Tschudi Arctic Transit through its Russian - Norwegian JV company Arctic Bulk AG, Atomflot, and the Northern Sea Route Administration in Moscow. Commenting on the successful transit Rolf Rønningen, CEO Polarcus, said: “The successful navigation of Polarcus Alima along the Northern Sea Route leads to significant savings in fuel, emissions, and time in transit. This provides Polarcus a viable new sea bridge between two important operational markets.”
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