SeaBeam 3020 System for Russian Icebreaker

The newbuilding is meant for the Russian Federal Service for Hydrometerology and Environmental Monitoring (ROSHYDROMET) and will replace the research vessel Akademik Feodorov. After the launching end of 2010, the vessel will be operated by the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI) for hydro-meteorological studies and environmental monitoring during expeditions in the polar sea. The multibeam system from Kiel will thus contribute a considerable contingent to the environmental monitoring of the polar regions.

At a very early stage, while preparing the quotation, L-3 ELAC Nautik has intensively supported the customer with detailed installation proposals, individually tailored, under special consideration of the sophisticated hydro-acoustic and constructional requirements of the vessel.

The delivery volume includes the 20kHz multibeam system SeaBeam 3020 in the icebreaking version, successfully installed in 2009 on the Chilean icebreaker Almirante Oscar Viel Toro, as well as computer workstations for data processing, the appropriate software, a synchronising unit for the hydro-acoustic systems and an ice-proof sound velocity system.

Seabeam 3020 belongs to the latest generation of multibeam deep-water systems by L-3 ELAC Nautik. The new patented Swept Beam Technology allows compensation of ship's motion such as roll, heave and pitch by a new revolutionary transmission mode, offering an extremely wide coverage as well as near field focusing in shallow water.

By this new technology the disadvantages of sectoral transmitting and scanning can be avoided. Besides bathy-metric data, the system can also present and store side scan sonar data and information from the water column (WCI).

Special constructional procedures for the transducer arrays and hydrophones allow these to withstand even extreme pressure of ice, they are therefore in particular suitable for installation on icebreakers.
In addition the research vessel will have a dual-frequency survey echo sounder HydroStar 4900 with 12/200kHz, a newly developed system fulfilling all technical and scientific requirements. The system can measure and monitor the sea floor in water depths up to 10,000m.

It breaks my heart to see countries such as Russia building new ice breakers when Canada has trouble getting together enough money to keep their 2 or 4 old ice breakers afloat. I suppose they have a few more but they are all worn out. Barry Lusk - 02/02/2010 - 16:12