Svalbard (ship)
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The Svalbard (W303) is an icebreaker and coast guard ship of the Norwegian Coast Guard .
history
The ship was built by Langsten AS on the Tangen Verft in Kragerø in Telemark Fylke . The keel was laid on August 9, 2000 and the launch could take place on February 17 of the following year. The ship was christened on December 15, 2001 in Tomrefjord in the presence of Norwegian Defense Minister Kristin Krohn Devold . Full operational readiness was achieved around mid-2002. The ship's home port is Sortland .
tasks
The main area of application of the Svalbard is in the arctic waters in the north of Norway , in the Barents Sea and in the area of Spitzbergen (norw. Svalbard ). The ship is designed as an icebreaker, this is one of the main tasks of the ship. In addition, it takes on tasks in the area of Search and Rescue as well as sovereign tasks, such as the control of fishing. Although the Svalbard is not specially equipped for this, the ship is occasionally used for polar expeditions.
On August 21, 2019, the ship reached the North Pole for the first time. Reaching a very high average speed of seven knots on this expedition was thanks to the channel of the Russian icebreaker 50 Let Pobedy on this route.
technology
The Svalbard is the largest and one of the most complex units of the Norwegian Coast Guard.
drive
The energy for propelling the ship is provided by four diesel engines with connected generators, each with an output of 3390 kW. The actual drive is provided by two propeller pods , which can be rotated through 360 ° and each contain a 5 MW electric motor. This form of propulsion enables a relatively low top speed of 17.5 knots, but it is extremely economical to operate and gives the ship enormous maneuverability.
Military equipment
Since the Svalbard can be used for national defense in the event of a defense, the ship was provided with military equipment.
The armament consists of a 57mm Bofors cannon as well as smaller weapons such as machine guns and small arms. In addition, NBC protection, which is achieved through permanent and constant overpressure, is part of the equipment. If necessary, Mistral anti-aircraft missiles can be carried.
helicopter
The Svalbard was built in such a way that two helicopters can be carried at the same time. In practice, only one helicopter is usually carried. Initially it was a Westland Lynx , which was to be replaced by an NH90 helicopter from 2009 . These helicopters were ordered in 2001, but only some of them were delivered and at the beginning of 2019 none of the nine new machines were in use as planned.
additional skills
The ship has the Icebreaker POLAR-10 ice class , which means it is able to break ice up to a thickness of about one meter. In addition, the Svalbard has a crane that can lift a load of up to 12 tons and powerful winches to tow a damaged ship. The ship has considerable fire fighting capabilities.
export
In July 2007, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that his country intended to procure six to eight Arctic Patrol Ships to be based on the Svalbard's design. The Canadian Navy will run this as the Harry DeWolf class .
Web links
Svalbard
Research expeditions with the Svalbard
Individual evidence
- ↑ KV “Svalbard” as the first Norwegian ship at the North Pole , businessportal-norwegen.com, 22 August 2019
- ↑ 90 ° 00.0000'N , Novaya Gazeta, November 17, 2019
- ↑ All deny blame for helicopter scandal , newsinenglish.no, February 1, 2019