Recent Advances on Safe Maritime Operations under Extreme Conditions

Abstract

Increased activity in the Arctic involves hazards such as a harsh environment, especially the ice cover and cold temperature, remoteness, a lack of infrastructure, and lack of information about bathymetry, among other challenges. Ice cover is also highly variable and dynamic, with increasing variation in the future; due to the changing effects of the world climate, the ice conditions on all ice-covered areas are also under dynamic change. The effects on Arctic operations are complicated issues to address. The remoteness of Arctic areas means that in the case of an accident, the search and rescue (SAR) capabilities are low. Fairways are not marked very extensively; therefore, soundings taken for charting are relatively scarce. These polar area hazards are compounded by the fact that the rate of recovery of nature is slow, meaning that environmental hazards are exacerbated. This book presents a collection of papers which focus on scenario-based risk management for polar shipping and risk-based guidelines. Topics discussed by internationally renowned authors involve the description of ice conditions, ship–ice contact and associated loading, numerical models/idealizations, definitions of limit states for ice-strengthened structures, and holistic risk/reward analyses for polar navigation. From an overall perspective, this work contributes toward international research efforts to safeguard maritime operations in ice-infested waters. This book may be of interest for maritime industry practitioners, regulators, academics, researchers and postgraduate students. Part of the work presented in this book has been sponsored by Lloyd’s Register Foundation (LRF). Their financial support is acknowledged with gratitude. LRF helps to protect life and property by supporting engineering-related education, public engagement, and the applications of research.