Recently, a world-made and tungsten carbide propeller made of the world's first polar condensate tank with a capacity of 44,500 tons appeared in Nansha.
the world's first polar condensate tanker picture
Give it a name first - "BORIS SOKOLOV". Then, the shipowner - the Greek company. Then, it should be put into operation, and invested in a project known as “a pearl of energy embedded in the Arctic Circle”. Specifically, the vessel, designed according to the Russian Ice Society's highest ice zone level, Arc7 icebreaking capacity, will primarily serve the Yamal LNG project, the world's largest LNG project in the Arctic Circle in Russia. The project is the first full-industry chain cooperation project between China and Russia in the Arctic Circle, and is also an important fulcrum of the "Ice Silk Road".
arctic circle picture
And said that in the past, if you want to transport oil in the polar regions, only the summer can pass. Now, with this unique global polar condensate tanker, it can work in winter. Because it is created to challenge the extreme cold weather in the Arctic, its greatest feature is that it is not afraid of cold - it can break through the ice in an environment of minus 50 degrees Celsius, unimpeded.
icebreaker propeller picture
It is reported that this unusual ship, because it has installed ice skates made of special materials such as tungsten and molybdenum alloy, can sail and transport condensate under the conditions of no icebreaker pilotage throughout the year. This ice skate cuts the ice layer and the ice ridge, just like a knife cut tofu, generally can be directly crushed, of course, it is an ice layer below 1.8 meters thick and an ice ridge below 15 meters. This is the so-called "two-way ice breaking" ability. The reason why this ship has this performance is because there is no rudder in its design, but two of the world's largest pod propellers are designed in the crotch. The steering, forward and backward of the ship are achieved by these two thrusters. According to the ship's designer, the two propellers can be rotated horizontally within 360° to achieve the ship's forward or backward movement. It also allows the ship to maintain a speed of more than 2 knots! Looking at the ice zone ships operating around the world, it can be said that it is unique!
tungsten carbide propeller picture
As you may know, the choice of propellers for ships sailing in polar waters and having ice-breaking capacity is quite different compared to ships sailing in conventional seas. It is especially important that the strength of the propeller must be taken into account. Because the ship sailing on the polar channel can not be guaranteed if the strength of the propeller is not guaranteed, the blade is likely to deform, bend or even break when it collides with the ice floe, which will cause the ship to lose its ability to sail. To make matters worse, this will eventually make the ship stay in polar climate conditions waiting for rescue. For the ship's personnel, this is a great survival test. Therefore, the material of the propeller must be such that the propeller has the ability to propel the ship to sail smoothly in the polar navigation area. It is reported that the hard alloy has high hardness, can withstand low temperature, resist corrosion, resist impact, and has excellent fracture toughness and compressive strength. It can adapt to polar climatic conditions. Therefore, the specially made propeller can be used in the polar region. On the propeller of the cruise ship.
In other words, as an essential equipment for the development of polar waterways and resources, polar icebreakers are an important starting point for countries to advance their polar strategy. Therefore, the successful construction of the "Boris Sokolov" polar condensate tanker, the strength of Chinese equipment and Chinese manufacturing is fully exposed. This is a major event in the world and in the energy sector.
