The Arctic is defined as the area from the North Pole and southwards to the Polar Circle at 66º 33’ 38” North.
If you include the areas just south of the Polar Circle on either coast of Greenland, estimates of the world’s undiscovered oil and gas which can be found here range from 20 to 30 per cent. With increased global warming, new merchant ship trade routes along the Russian and Canadian/ Alaskan coasts will come into existence. However, the whole area north of the Polar Circle is one of the few more or less untouched areas in the world and it has a very delicate environment. When exploring for natural resources here, extreme caution must be taken to preserve the environment – the term “environmentally sustainable” is probably not strong enough.
DNV has long traditions in the Arctic and most of the ships trading globally with an ice class (strengthened hull) are to DNV class. DNV’s class rules issued in 1881 prescribe that “In all vessels that may have to steam through ice, the frames at the extreme forepart are to be closer than here directed, or some sufficient additional strengthening of the vessel’s forepart must be adopted.” In 1896 the polar ship Fram, the strongest wooden vessel in the world, enabled Amundsen to reach the South Pole ahead of the competition. We are involved in a number of joint industry projects and work closely with global leaders on the Arctic in universities and other institutions. For example, we issued the first principles for offshore drilling platforms as far back as in 1970 and have issued a large number of new and revised codes since then. Another example is DNV’s pipeline standard, which has been recognised to such an extent that about 70 per cent of all offshore pipelines are designed, constructed and installed to meet its requirements. In 2007, DNV was awarded a contract by the Norwegian government and supported by the Russian government to propose safety standards for the oil and gas activities in the Barents Sea, including the export of hydrocarbons by ship or pipeline. We are strongly committed to continue making a positive impact on the global environment and working closely with the authorities and energy and transport industries to maintain the focus on technology and competence development. We feel that we are on the verge of expanded activities north of the Polar Circle and will do our utmost to ensure that this unique environment is taken care of while this is happening.
I hope you find this first issue of DNV Arctic Update interesting reading and your comments are
welcome.
Henrik Madsen