New Offshore and Icebreaker Technologies for the European Research Icebreaker Consortium
such as coring, logging, installations, maintenance, etc., are performed under full weather protection in the central tower with direct access to the ship’s laboratories and service areas (see Figure 4). Drilling depth below the seafloor is limited by formation type or stability, similar to established setups on other scientific ocean drilling vessels in riserless drilling mode. The full range of re-entry, casing and cementing and instrumentation techniques (e.g. borehole data loggers), as well as the suite of common down-hole logging tools, can be used.
While the vessel is equipped with a dedicated deep-sea drilling rig, other coring, detached and remotely-operated drilling techniques can be employed if needed (e.g. Rockdrill or Meresboden-Bohrgeraet [MEBO]). Future mud-return systems tested for IODP and various smaller drilling vessels to increase safety and to provide controlled borehole conditions in difficult strata are compatible with the layout of the Aurora Borealis.
The arrangement of the complete drilling equipment around the aft moon pool includes the working decks, the drill floor and the drill core. The drill tower contains all facilities, platforms and the heave compensators. It also includes handling gear for 6,000m of drill pipe that are stored as pre-coupled segments in vertical supply magazines. The required stands for pre-set tools, drill collars, bottom hole assemblies, etc., are also found here. Reserve drill pipes for another 6,000m or more can be stored on board in containers.Extensive laboratory space (about 2,500m2), means a full analytical workflow can easily be established that is similar to existing platforms. This space includes clean rooms, diverse scanning and logging or incubation facilities.
Implementation Plans, Cost-sharing and Participation Models
The Aurora Borealis is on the priority list of the European Commission’s ‘European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures’ and is specifically recommended for realisation by EU Member States in the European Commission’s recently published Arctic Strategy.6
The European Research
Icebreaker Consortium’s vessel, the Aurora Borealis, is supported by the European Commission within the seventh Framework Programme, and prepares the vessel’s strategic, legal, financial and governance frameworks. Eleven countries are formal European Research Icebreaker Consortium members: Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Russia and Romania. In addition, Ireland and Spain recently joined as associate members. A business-planning and cost-sharing process is currently being conducted as part of the preparation phase of the project. Construction costs based on the initial design have been calculated to range from €700–800 million, while the annual operational costs have been estimated to be between €30 and €45 million by expert advisory panels staffed with international research vessel and icebreaker operators and naval architects. It is safe to assume that the average costs for an Arctic drilling expedition will be comparably lower than with an otherwise-necessary multiship setup.
Potential for the Private Sector – Usage, Research, Development and Beyond While the vessel and its operations primarily serve as a multidisciplinary research infrastructure, active engagement and joint projects with the private sector and industry (both during construction and operation) shall become an integral part of the operational portfolio. Interaction
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