Forty three years of ice model testing in Finland

Abstract

Ice model testing is relatively new field of activity compared to open water testing, which has been going on over hundred years. The first laboratory for testing ships in ice was established in Leningrad in 1955. In the middle of the 1960s when oil had been found in Alaska, North Slope, the need emerged to study the possibility to transport the oil to the market with tankers through the North-West Passage. An existing 106000DWT tanker - SS Manhattan was chosen to be modified to do the job, see Figure 1. The design of the modification of the tanker was done by Wartsila Shipbuilding in Finland as they had already gained experience from building icebreakers both to the Subarctic and Arctic conditions. Ice model testing is relatively new field of activity compared to open water testing, which has been going on over hundred years. The first laboratory for testing ships in ice was established in Leningrad in 1955.In the middle of the 1960ies when oil had been found in Alaska, North Slope, the need emerged to study the possibility to transport the oil to the market with tankers through the North-West Passage. An existing 106000DWT tanker - SS Manhattan was chosen to be modified to do the job, see Figure 1. The design of the modification of the tanker was done by Wartsila Shipbuilding in Finland as they had already gained experience from building icebreakers both to the Subarctic and Arctic conditions.