In Russia, a new submarine was presented that can swim in ice. BarentsObserver reports that, thanks to its special bow shape and reinforced hull, the submarine will be able to traverse more than a meter thick ice and will be used for servicing subsea oil and gas production complexes, as well as for possible subsea mining of other minerals on the Arctic shelf.
The new submarine 82 meters long, capable of floating in ice, was presented by the Malakhit design bureau, known as the developer of several types of nuclear submarines of the Russian Navy.
It is argued that due to the special shape of the bow and the reinforced hull, the submarine is capable of passing through ice 1.2 meters thick on the surface. According to the Russian classification, the vessel will have an ice class Arc5.
As reported on the Malachite website, the submarine service vessel (SSV) is designed to operate safely under the ice, regardless of ice, wave or wind conditions on the surface. It can be used both for servicing subsea oil and gas production complexes, and for possible subsea production of other minerals on the Arctic shelf in the future.
In 2017, at the Arctic - Territory of Dialogue conference, held in Arkhangelsk, President Vladimir Putin spoke about the great economic potential of the Arctic shelf.
At the same conference, another designer of Russian submarines, Rubin Central Design Bureau, presented his version of civil nuclear submarines for mining in Arctic waters. The Bureau showed a set of mini-submarines equipped with a new 24 MW reactor.
The Arctic submarine service vessel being developed by Malachit will also be able to carry mini-submarines that can operate independently of the USAR team.
Based on the Malachite blueprints, renowned submarine specialist H. I. Sutton, who manages Covert Shores and has published several books on submarines, has prepared several illustrations of what he thinks the new submarine for the Arctic shelf will look like - how inside and outside.
Promotional video:
According to him, the large cabin of the submarine includes a hangar for a dry underwater vehicle. There are three hangars for unmanned underwater vehicles - under the keel, in the bow and on the port side. The nose also has a large manipulator arm that retracts completely inward. For the exit of divers, a hatch is provided in the bottom of the PSO. They also have a hyperbaric chamber for compression, residence and decompression.
So far, Russia does not have offshore subsea complexes for the extraction of oil and gas or other minerals. In the European part of the Arctic, the only active offshore oil field is Prirazlomnoye in the eastern part of the Barents Sea, which is produced from a traditional surface platform, albeit ice-resistant.
In any case, the use of these new nuclear powered submersibles for work on the Arctic shelf is a matter of the distant future.
Thomas Nielsen