VERSATILE COASTER FOR NORTHWEST GREENLAND

The 2,300dwt Siuana Arctica is the first of two sister newbuilds constructed at the Bilbao premises of Astilleros Zamakona to the order of Royal Arctic Line (RAL), the Nuuk-based company responsible for sea freight through Greenland’s 13 largest ports. The vessels will be employed along the territory’s northwest coast, serving communities between the Uummannaq area and Upernavik Island in 73⁰N-76⁰N environs on the eastern fringes of Baffin Bay.

The design developed by Norwegian consultancy Havyard Design & Solutions provides for palletised goods, refrigerated cargo and containerised freight within a compact hull envelope of 67m x 16m, strengthened for service in Arctic conditions. The reefer element reflects the vessels’ role in loading fish at coastal settlements for transhipment at Nuuk, with seafood accounting for 90% by value of Greenland’s exports. Addressing the critical requirement for self-reliance in cargo handling, each vessel has been specified with two TTS cranes.

Siuana Arctica is scheduled to sail this month from Bilbao to Aalborg, RAL’s Danish continental hub, where preparations will be put in hand for the vessel’s service debut in Greenland next May. She will replace one of the existing mainstays of the essential coastal transportation infrastructure, the 1979-built Pajuttat. Handover of the second-of-class by Zamakona is anticipated during the early spring.

The fleet addition has provided Belgian medium-speed engine manufacturer ABC with a further reference for its DZC design. A mechanically-injected 12-cylinder, vee-form model powers the Siuana Arctica. The machinery is characterised by a comparatively high displacement, low brake mean effective pressure (BMEP), and an increasing torque curve at decreasing engine speed that suits the requirements and operating profile of many smaller types of vessel, including coasters. The turbocharging system used is said to be such as to allow the engine to absorb considerable shock loads imposed in heavy sea conditions.

Depending on the specific application and owners’ criteria, the 12(V)DZC type is available at different combinations of power and crankshaft speed, from 2,064kW at 720rpm up to 2,800kW or more at 1,000rpm.

Norwegian company Brunvoll was contracted by Zamakona to supply the transmission, main propeller, manoeuvring and related control systems. The PTO/PTI functionality of the shaft generator assures a ‘take-me-home’ capability in the event of propulsion engine failure. The reduction gear and controllable pitch propeller are both from the Brunvoll Volda range, while the tunnel thrusters fore and aft are of the Brunvoll FU45 type. The two main diesel gensets are driven by Scania Dl13 high-speed engines.

RAL’s fleet development programme encompasses two further, but small coasters from the Spanish shipbuilding industry. With main dimensions of just 36m x 10m, the vessels are at an advanced stage of construction by the Nodosa Group at Pontevedra, Galicia, using Havyard 971 blueprints. As with the Zamakona sisters, which are of the Havyard 974 design, the Nodosa pair will be deployed in northwest Greenland, necessitating stringent design requirements to cope with an extremely arduous climate and ensure access to small, shallow ports and berths. As with all new vessels operating above 60⁰N, RAL’s ships are specified to ensure compliance with the Polar Code.

RAL commissioned a new flagship at the beginning of 2020 when the 2,150TEU Tukuma Arctica was phased into the mainline itinerary linking Greenland with Denmark, Sweden, Iceland and the Faroe Islands. Two further vessels in the series from Chinese contractor Guangzhou Wenchong have since been completed for Icelandic owner Eimskip, with whom RAL is now cooperating in the trade on a shared capacity basis.

PRINCIPAL PARTICULARS – Siuana Arctica