Sailing in Arctic Waters My name is Ole Johan Andreassen and I are employed by Hurtigruten ASA, and have been in Hurtigruten since 1977. My experience from sailing in Arctic waters have I get from several trips with passenger ship MS Nordnorge, MS Nordkapp and MS Fram, the last one is the newest ship in the hutrigruten fleet, who is build as explorer ship Fram was builded in 2007. And at that time it was installed the newest version of navigation systems and comunication system. The first trip to Antarctica was in 2001 with MS Nordnorge. At that time it was not so many ships who was sailing in that area compared with the traffic we have to day in this waters. In 2001 we started to sail from Ushuaia down to South Shetland Islands with landings on several places in that area. Regarding the sailing from Cape Horn And down to the Shetland Island who are the first antarctic area you wil come to can be an rough sailing, the weather can change werry rapidely and the current can be werry strong. And the result of theese two could make werry high waves who can cause damage of the ship and crew/passengers. The wavehight in this area is werry often 7-8 meters.the charts you have available to day is good in this area, you can get Argentitnian charts,chilean charts and The british Admiratlity Charts who are good. The maps we use in Hurtigruten to day is C-map chart system and we also use the charts from Primar who deliver werry good ENC charts,the most of the areas who is used for ship traffic today. Areas in Antarctica who is covered with ENC charts is not so many, South Georgia have some, Falkland Island, and some areas in Antarctic Sound and a small area west of Antarctic Sound.
MS Nordnorge and MS Nordkapp
MS Fram
Antarctica The most of the area in Antarctica is covered with charts, but there is also some of the charts who are werry old and the data is not to thrust to much on. When the ice now is melting in some of the fjords you have to sail with caution all the time, specialy close to the shoreline, you have to keep safe distance. The biggest challenges you have when you are sailing in this waters is the quikly wether changes and the ice of cause. You have to look for the changes of weather all the time and keep you updated on the forcasting all the time. The main direction of the low presures are coming from west and have an north east direction. But ususally they hav an good speed so wind is decricing quite fast, but some times you can have strong wind in 2 or 3 days. The wind speed can easily get up to 25 30 m/s. The weather forcast we use wrry much is the charts you get from the Argentinian and also Storm weather senter have good forecasting for Antarctica. Most of the forecasting is from internett. But sailing in arctic waters recomend also that you have the best of the navigation systems oyu can get today. In an combination of wind snow/slit and waves you have to sail with caution, the ice growlers is not easy to detect due to the waves and the poor sight you have in such weather. Personaly I will recomand navigators who have experince from sailing in ice and polar waters. And experince from this you only can get from navigators who have worked on ships operting in such waters. So I will say you have to have an as trainee on a ship sailig in Atctic waters before you have indepndent watches on the bridge. Regarding shearing of information to other ships we done this, but you have to carefull with due to the standard of surch information. One system who is werry good for this is the Olex system. MV Fram and at least two ships more in Hurtigruten have this system and the system have many good user options. Shearing of information from Olex you can by if have the system and have the right license. On MV Fram we also have an Olex unit in one of the rescueboats and one Echosounder with integrated GPS. So when you not have enogh good soundings in an area you will drop the anchor you launche the boat and connecting the Olex system and starting sending depth data to the mother ship via AIS system (VHF) Regarding communication in Antarctica was internett a good solution, also Inmarsat C, HF and Iridium.
Olex Chart and Sounding system
Greenland Sailing I have 3 seasons on Greenland and the most of the west side fro south end of Greenland up north of Thule. We started the seasons in beginning of July and end of season was at the start of September. When we started on Iceland and reached south end of Greenland we have to count on we will meet the drift ice early. We have to sail aproximately 60 nm of the south end and then start to find channels in ice to reach the destinations. One trip we used 26 hours to find the way in to the coast. Tha ice you will meet in south is comming from the East side of Greenlang and current will bring it south and the northgoing current on the west side will bring the ice north. The most of this ice is seaice. The Icebergs on west side is ice who have drifted in 2 years, they have been up on the coast of Canada for one winter and in the second spring they will loosen and drift south. But the ice charts you get from the Grennland command and from Ice service is werry good you see the ice edge werry clear and make the desition out of this. The charts on Grennland is of good quality and also the electroninc charts, the most of the west side up to north end of Disko Island is covered. From Disko Island and further north it`s begin to be less sounded areas along the coast. All anchor possitions Fram have used on greenland is checked with the Olex system and we have back up rutines for all this data. All ships who have this system have all data availible if they have lisence for this from Olex. The charts who is used on Olex is not to good, but it is possible to get C-map charts if you want. As I mentioned earlier we have been sailing all the way upp to noth of Thule up 84 degree N. In this area you only have some sounding lines to follow but you have also areas without any soundings. Navigation marks is not to many of. The comunication on Greenland on the west side is good, Assiat Radio have covered the most of the area and we have been in contact many times, you mandatory reporting 2 times a day during sailing and you have to report every time you reach destination and when you departure. Internett and HF/VHF and thelephone have good connections on the west coast but on the east side the comunication is of bad quality. The system for Shearing of sailing information is after my opinion is LRIT or AIS system. If it has been relay stations who could have transmitted in the areas there you normaly have poor covering. Iridium is also an alternative. The communication in the big fjordsystems on east side of Greenland is werry bad, the only system who can be used is Iridium. Ref. report from the Danish Marine Commando.
Rutter Ice radar (Greenland)
10 cm Radar (Greenland)
Svalbard On Svalbard I have been sailing two times arround the Spitsbergen Island. We have the base in Longyearbyen and then sailing to Barentburg, up on the west side of Prins Karls Forland, through Sørgattet and then up to Monaco Glacier, up to Moffen an small Island in the midle of nothing, just made of Grawl/Sand. And then sailing east to Ross Island and up north to Iceedge. Soth again to Woodfjorden, through Hinlopenstrait and down to Blåsvell breen on SW side of Nordaustlandet. Through Freemann sound between Edge Island and Barent Island and have landing in the Freemann Sound. This sailing was done in July from the 3 to the 30 of July 2011. While the ship was at anchor in the Freemann Sound we performed and emergency exersize between the Company, HRS in Bodø and the Sysselmann on Spitsbergen. The only communication who worked was the HF and Iridium systems. Ice on Svalbard the icecondition in July is normaly good, no problem to sail in to Spitbergen west side. You can meet som drift ice but not in big consentrations. Up on the northside it will more ice some times, this depnce on the weather situations and the current. At that time we was there the ice conditions all the way was werry good, through the Hinlopenstrait was no ice. But regarding the area when you sailing to the SW of Nordaustlandet you have to keep atention due to the ice who is comming from the Glaciers, there is icegrowlers who could be submerged du to stones who is inside the growlers. Sailing through the Freemann sound. In this sound the current is werry strong, at the time we mas threre the current has an speed up to 4 knots. The chart matrial in this are is good for some areas but for some not so good. North of Ross Island you have a few soundings to navigate after. But the Norwegian Goverment is working with updating and survaying of areas around Svalbard now, so new charts will be avilible in near future i think. For an safer navigation in this areas, it could have been more radar beacons. First on the most outer points. This to have more safer points to navigate after end you will be more safe. The conditions in this waters changing werry fast and you will have points you can thrust on the radar.