The Glavgosexpertiza of Russia issued a positive conclusion following the review of design estimates for the creation of a monitoring system for hydrometeorological factors affecting the safety of navigation within the boundaries of the Sea Canal of the Gulf of Ob and on the approaches to it.
The project is implemented by the Federal State Unitary Enterprise “Hydrographic Enterprise” of the State Corporation “Rosatom”, one of the tasks of which is the development and maintenance of the Russian sea port infrastructure in the waters of the Northern Sea Route. The Sea Canal of the Ob Bay of the Kara Sea provides year-round traffic for the implementation of a number of hydrocarbon projects in the region. The site is located beyond the Arctic Circle, in the area of continuous permafrost. Here, there is a long-term presence of ice cover, ice piles on dry land and shallows, high gas saturation of the sedimentary layer and other phenomena that significantly complicate the navigation situation in the water area.
In order to control the situation, in the estuary part of the Ob River, where a lot of various processes and phenomena are concentrated, it is planned to place a system for monitoring hydrometeorological factors (SHMM), which will provide reliable operational and predictive hydrometeorological information to navigators on the Sea Canal and the Sabetta Seaport Administration. In 2020, Glavgosexpertiza approved the expansion of the approach channel to the port in the Gulf of Ob to increase the transit passage of ships.
“The designed monitoring system will make it possible to obtain detailed operational information about changes in the ice situation in the area of the Sea Canal of the Gulf of Ob. Thus, in the short term, cases of a critical combination of natural factors will be predicted in order to warn navigators and prevent dangerous situations,” – commented Alexander Rudakovskiy, chief expert of the project of the GEP Service on transport and hydraulic engineering facilities of the Glavgosexpertiza of Russia.
Hydrometeorological observations of the SHMM will include hydrometeorological parameters that have both a direct and indirect impact on the safety of vessel traffic along the Sea Canal. For example, in order to minimize serious risks when large-tonnage vessels navigate through the Sea Canal, it is necessary to monitor the characteristics of the ice cover in the Gulf of Ob between 72° and 72°40´N. This and other information received through the monitoring system should be supplied to consumers continuously throughout the calendar year and, if possible, in real time, which is especially important during the ice season.
The project documentation provides for the installation of a hydrotechnical base, on which an antenna-mast structure with hydrometeorological equipment and communication equipment will be placed. The SGMM will also include devices to ensure the system’s operability.
The general designer of the facility is Lenmorniiproekt JSC.
Photo: Kirill Kukhmar/TASS
