St. Petersburg-based Admiralty Shipyard has completed the control phase of the sea trials of the ice-resistant self-propelled platform “Severny Polyus” (North Pole in Russian), United Shipbuilding Corp said in a statement.
The test was conducted in the Gulf of Finland during June 30 – July 6. Yard specialists set up and adjusted the gyropilot and scientific equipment of the vessel.
The engineering team also tested helicopter landing and take-off, as well as radio communication with the helicopter. Noise, vibration, torsion and tractive forces parameters were measured.
After the platform is back at the yard, Admiralty Shipyard will prepare the vessel for delivery to the customer. The “Severny Polyus” will join the research fleet of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute and set sail for her first expedition.
The contract to build the platform as signed in April 2018. The keel was laid on April 10, 2019. The vessel is being built under the federal program for social and economic development of the Arctic Region of the Russian Federation.
The platform is designed as a fully-functional research center and is aimed for year-round missions in the Arctic Ocean to conduct geologic, acoustic, geophysical and oceanographic studies.
The vessel is capable of operating in ice conditions without the assistance of an icebreaker and can serve as a landing ground for heavy transport helicopters.
The 83.1 m LOA, 22.5 beam Arc8 platform has a speed of at least 10 knots and can accommodate 14 crew members and 34 researchers.