Page 50 - Журнал Sozvezdye Review - «СОЗВЕЗДИЕ» #38

Along the Marine Channel

In 2021, Hydrographic Enterprise completed
dredging operations as part of the first stage of recon-
structing the Marine Channel – the approach chan-
nel in the Gulf of Ob. The period between 2020 and
2021 saw the extraction of more than 47 cubic meters
of soil (32.5 million in 2020 and 15.1 million in 2021).
At the first stage of reconstruction, the Marine
Channel was expanded from 295 to 475 meters. In
place is the additional 573-meter-wide maneuvering
section and the second 475-meter-wide bend. The
channel has a length of 51.6 kilometers and sea bot-
tom level of minus 15.1 meters. For the convenience
of the delivery to Utrenny of hydrocarbon process-
ing facilities, the approach channel has two trench-
es. Safety of navigation will be ensured, among other
navigational aids, by 32 buoys to be anchored along
the channel.
Prior to the reconstruction, the Marine Channel
had the following dimensions: length – 49 kilometers,
width – 295 meters, depth – 15.1 meters. The project’s
second (final) stage will be completed in 2022. The
volume of extracted soil is expected to total 59.8 mil-
lion cubic meters.

Looking through a broader lens

Hydrographic Enterprise’s core business is the
provision of navigational and hydrographic support
(NHS) within the Northern Sea Route water area. In
2021, the company delivered a record number of hy-
drographic surveys in the history of modern Russia.
The summer-autumn navigation season of 2021 wit-
nessed the surveying of 83.6 thousand kilometers of
bottom relief (equivalent to 41.5 thousand linear ki-
lometers) – a two-fold increase in the scope of stud-
ies undertaken in 2020 (46.6 thousand kilometers).
Despite the challenging hydrometeorological and ice
conditions observed in 2021, the NHS-related hydro-
graphic studies have been fulfilled 102.5%.
With a view to discover more navigable areas
along the Northern Sea Route, the hydrographic sur-
veys will continue to be performed at the same high
pace. While from 2011 to 2020 the water area stud-
ies covered 377,000 virtual kilometers, from 2021 to
Northern seaport 2025 the coverage rose to 430,000 virtual kilometers.
The surveys to be conducted by Hydrographic En-
Hydrographic Enterprise is currently channeling terprise along the Northern Sea Route in 2022, will
most of its construction efforts into the projects in the involve testing of echo sounder-installed unmanned
Gulf of Ob, Kara Sea. In September 2021, the compa- surface vehicles. At this stage, the testing plan is being
ny completed dredging of the approach channel and revised for technicalities. Remotely operated vehicles
the water area of Utrenny Terminal for liquefied natu- have so far never been used for research purposes on
ral gas and stable gas condensate in the seaport of Sa- the Northern Sea Route.
betta. The volume of soil it extracted over the course For unmanned vehicles to be suitable for bottom
of three years exceeds 24 million cubic meters. As a relief studies, they should be equipped with echo
result of dredging, the sea bottom level within Utren- sounder and positioning system. These vehicles will
ny’s approach channel and water area is now minus be controlled by operator from onboard the ship or
15 meters (Baltic Elevation System), compared to the follow a pre-set programme. The company is planning
starting level of 2 to 3 meters in some sections – the to use them as auxiliaries in performing its onboard
naturally occurring depths in these waters. hydrographic survey plan, expecting this to lead to a
With the current width and depth of its approach 1.5-fold increase in the productivity of surveys.
channel, the terminal is suitable for accommodating
vessels as large as gas carrier Christophe de Margerie,
whose vital statistics include the length of 299 meters,
width 50 meters and draft up to 12 meters. In 2021, Hydrographic Enterprise completed
Work is in process to install the water area of
SOZVEZDYE #38 Utrenny Terminal with ice protection structures. Two the artificial reproduction plan designed to re-
store the aquatic biological resources that were
of them – Yuzhny (Southern) and Severny (North- damaged while constructing and operating ear-
ern) – are being constructed as part of Utrenny con- lier projects. Between July and September 2021,
судоходство struction project and are designed to protect its water the company has released into the waters of the
navigation area from drifting ice, a source of damage to berths Ob-Irtysh River Basin young Siberian sturgeon
and ships. Severny ice protection structure has the (3.3 million), muksun (25.7 million) and broad
designed length of 1.3 kilometers and Yuzhny of 3.1 whitefish (3 million). Environmental monitor-
kilometers. Their construction requires installation of ing takes place throughout the construction
5,746 submerged piles. As of the end of March, 4,364 stage and is designed to trace changes in all
48 are already in place. The installation of the ice protec- components of the ecosystem.
tion structures is scheduled for completion in 2022.