Session: 07-04-01 Ships and Structures in Ice

Submission Number: 179084

Extension of IACS Polar Class Rules for Non-Ice Class Vessels 

Climate change has significantly reduced sea ice coverage in the Arctic, creating new opportunities for maritime operations in Polar and other ice-infested waters. This transformation has led to increased shipping activity, with both ice-class and conventional non-ice class vessels navigating in regions that were previously inaccessible. Despite these opportunities, safety risks remain significant, particularly for vessels engaged in exceptional circumstances such as search and rescue or security missions. While the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) Polar Class Rules offer a robust framework for ice-class vessels, they do not apply to non-ice-class vessels, leaving a gap in assessing their structural capacity and operational risks in ice conditions. This paper addresses this gap by proposing an extension of the Polar Class Rules from PC 7 to PC 15 by extrapolating class factors and design ice load parameters. Minimum structural scantlings required to withstand these design ice loads are then determined using Polar Rules-based methods. Finite element analysis is employed to assess yield and post-yield behaviors of these scantlings under the design ice loads, validating the approach for non-ice-class vessels. The methodology is applied to an existing non-ice class ship, demonstrating its practical value in evaluating structural capability and operational risk in ice operations.

Presenting Author: Logan Miller Defence Research and Development Canada

Presenting Author Biography: Logan Miller is a defence scientist at Defence Research and Development Canada, working at the Atlantic Research Centre in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. There, he is a member of the warship performance section, working in Arctic mobility.

Authors:

Mahmud Sazidy Defence Research and Development Canada
Logan Miller Defence Research and Development Canada