Dependence of the modern icebreaker fleet from ice conditions on the Russian seas (Eng)

The paper considers the current status of Russian Icebreaker fleet. The potential application of sum of degree-days of frost to characterize easy, moderate and difficult ice conditions in the Russian seas is proved. The restrictions for different ice-class vessels to navigate in easy, moderate and d...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: I.O. Dumanskaya
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Russian
Published: LLC Center for Information and Legal Support for the Development of the Arctic 2019
Subjects:
geo
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.24411/2658-4255-2019-10052
https://doaj.org/article/311fe874ea2e40e69f2361f9755b86ae
Description
Summary:The paper considers the current status of Russian Icebreaker fleet. The potential application of sum of degree-days of frost to characterize easy, moderate and difficult ice conditions in the Russian seas is proved. The restrictions for different ice-class vessels to navigate in easy, moderate and difficult ice conditions are analyzed. It is shown that the power of the modern icebreaker fleet enables to navigate successfully in the Russian seas in conditions of mild and moderate winters, as well as in conditions of severe and extremely severe winters. The analysis of construction and operation of the modern icebreaker fleet in 21st century leads to the conclusion that the real challenge of winter navigation in the non-Arctic seas is not due to ice thickness but due to the increasing number and size of vessels requiring icebreaker assistance.