Icebreaking offshore vessel to have Steerprop azimuths

Rauma-based Steerprop is to provide azimuth propulsion and steering systems for a shallow-draught icebreaking offshore service vessel under construction for the Russian companies, Mercury Sakhalin and Pola.

The double-acting, walk-to-work vessel is being built at Dutch shipyard, Royal Niestern Sander, and is due for delivery in December 2021.

The 76m-long vessel, classed by Bureau Veritas, will have two Steerprop SP 60 Pull ARCI propulsors with an input power of 2200 kW each. They are specifically designed for Arctic operation and have several layers of redundancy. The contract also includes a Steerprop propulsion control system and a Steerprop Care condition monitoring package.

Steerprop’s Sales manager, Olli Knihti, explained that the vessel is designed with maximum icebreaking capacity stern first and can break up to one metre of ice. “The vessel will be working in shallow waters,” he said, “which is a restricting factor for the propulsion system. Thanks to our compact design of the propulsion units, we could offer a solution that fits within the draught limitations.”