Hull Form Designs For Icebreaking Tankers

This paper discusses four designs for icebreaking tankers that have been developed by Samsung Heavy Industries and tested at NRC’s Institute for Ocean Technology (IOT). Three of the designs developed were twin-screw ships (with twin rudders). The first two bow shapes were similar to existing Canadian icebreakers. The third ship had a spoon shaped bow designed for heavy ice conditions. The fourth ship was designed for light to moderate ice conditions. The propulsion system for this ship was a single screw, single rudder stern with an innovative bulbous bow. This unique bow design showed considerable improvement in icebreaking performance compared to a conventional open-water bulbous bow but with almost no penalty to open water resistance. The paper presents predictions of speed and power for each icebreaking tanker design, in level ice, pack ice and open water. The important features of each hull form and propulsion system combination are discussed and the most appropriate voyage profile for each design is presented.