Deep Arctic routes
Rosatom’s FSUE Hydrographic Company has developed successfully over its 90-year history. The achievements of the past had served as a basis of the exponential growth. The company development from expeditions on motorised wooden sailing ships to infrastructure support of megaprojects in the Arctic with annual budgets comparable to that of an average Russian region and the plans for the future are described by Aleksandr Bengert, General Director of Hydrographic Company.
– Mr Bengert, can you recall a defining moment in the company history?
– There were lots of crucial moments in the history of the Hydrographic Enterprise. Starting with the creation of the Ob-Irtysh group, the Arkhangelsk hydrobase, and then the Hydrographic Department within the Glavsevmorput structure, this story was never interrupted, neither during the Second World War nor during the creatin of a new Russian state. The company passed all the tests confidently, its employees demonstrated a distinguished heroism while the performed research and works served as the basis for the contemporary navigation along the Northern Sea Route. I emphasize that a unique era came at the beginning of the 2000s, when the company began to focus on new technologies. The first electronic navigation charts were created and the Arctic electronic cartographic system was developed. The construction of control and correction stations began with six of them available today. The turning point in history came in 2019, when the company became a part of State Corporation Rosatom. That required new thinking to solve new problems. It seems to me that right now we are in the crucial phase of our history. We face a number of ambitious tasks. We are expanding the scope of research and continue the fleet upgrading. Our portfolio includes over a dozen Arctic projects. And we plan to pay greater attention to personnel training.
– What are the fleet development plans for this year?
– The core of the company's fleet is represented by the ships built in 1990-1991 at Finnish shipyards: Aleksey Maryshev, Grigory Mikheyev and Pyotr Kotsov, as well as the Ivan Kireyev which returned last year after a decade of operation under a bareboat charter and remains effective in all respects. Now we are carrying out a deep modernization of the Grigory Mikheyev and Pyotr Kotsov with the modernization of the Aleksey Maryshev also planned for this year. We can confidently say that the company already has the world's largest fleet of ice-class hydrographic vessels. In view of the growing requirements of the shipping, there is a need to build a new fleet. In 2022, we accepted the delivery of three new vessels: two small pilot boats of BLV03 design and one hydrographic vessel of Project E35G. Our main project is the construction of the lead hydrographic/pilot vessel of Arc7 class, Project HSV05.02. The Government of the Russian Federation has allocated resources and signed a state contract for its construction. The 70-meter flagship of our fleet will be designed for comprehensive hydrographic surveys and works, maintenance of navigational equipment, delivery of equipment and specialists to the shore, and other activities providing hydrographic support to merchant shipping on the Northern Sea Route.
– What is your vision of the Hydrographic Company’s technological future?
– The enormous potential which has not yet been unlocked yet is associated with the use of digital technologies. Last year we created our own Engineering Competence Center. It is planned that, first of all, it will let solve direct hydrographic problems, as well those related to organizing of construction and its control. We plan to improve work efficiency through the development of digital technologies, which are to cover the entire production on a single platform: from cartography and monitoring of aids to navigation to automation of administrative buildings.
– What is the scope of survey works in the Arctic?
– The company currently performs over 40,000 km of bottom relief surveys per year. That lets keep domestic navigational charts on the Northern Sea Route up-to-date and ensure the safety of navigation. But the Arctic development is very fast. About five years ago, the planning horizon did not exceed three or four years. No one could realize the scale of the projects to be implemented now. Shipping is developing by leaps and bounds, and the water areas not covered by our attention, and those aids to navigation that require our attention, is huge. The plan for 2024 alone foresees the survey of over 383 thousand lane kilometers of bottom relief which means the increase of annual surveys to 60-65 thousand km.
– What is the trend in obtaining and maintenance of navigational equipment?
– With respect of the contemporary requirements, the amount of needed navigational equipment has been revised. In the early 90s, we probably reached a peak when Hydrographic Company had about 1,200 of them. Now, with modern navigation safety systems available, about 700 units are needed. However, no one touched them for years, and many units are missing. All of them need to be restored. Therefore, we are trying to design and modify structures, develop technological maps. Starting from 2023, we will use a completely new technology involving composite materials with the support of Rosatom.
– In recent years, involvement of Hydrographic Company in major commodity projects has reached an arctic scope. How did you manage and what is being done now?
– We came to the Arctic projects in 2019 being a part of Rosatom already. Last year, we completed our megaproject on construction of Utrenny terminal facilities. In financial terms, our annual package of orders is comparable to the construction of one nuclear-powered icebreaker. This year we start to support 13 government contracts, which is a lot. Among the most ambitious ones is the reconstruction of the Seaway Canal in the Gulf of Ob of the Kara Sea. By 2030, it should allow for up to nine passages per day. We are also working on a project for the construction of a cargo berth at the Syradasay coal deposit. It is planned to create from scratch water areas for receiving and servicing cargo ships and icebreakers in the area of the coal terminal. Besides, there is an Oil Terminal “ Port Bukhta Sever” project, which includes the construction of a new terminal in the Yenisey Bay of the Kara Sea. It is to transship the products of Rosneft. The work is underway to deepen the port water area to 18 meters and install aids to navigation as well as navigation safety system facilities. It is to be put into operation in 2024.
– What is the company’s contribution in the hydrographic science development?
– Apart from large-scale annual research that contributes to scientific databases, we decided to organize the first hydrographic conference this year. It will take place on June 27. In my opinion, the hydrographic issues are too scattered among different venues where my colleagues and I speak from time to time. I hope that our conference will become regular and eventually acquire a significant international status. Alexeн Likhachev, General Director of Rosatom, will open the first conference. This is a great honor for us and a sign of attention to our company.
– What determines the future of the company, in your opinion?
– Personnel. I would not like it to sound trite, but the main value is, of course, our employees, who develop the achievements of the previous generations. I emphasize that although we are actively working in St. Petersburg and good conditions for work and communication are created here, our development is focused on the Arctic and the settlements where our employees work - in Pevek, Tiksi, Khatanga, Dickson, Zeleny Mys. I think our future is associated with the strengthening of our presence in the Arctic region.
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