Rolls-Royce kamewa propeller to power ice-breaking cargo ship

A high-strength controllable pitch propeller from Rolls-Royce will be used to power a new ice-breaking cargo ship for Canadian company Fednav Limited. The ice-breaking bulk carrier will transport highly valuable nickel and copper concentrates from Canada, through the Arctic ice, to customers in Europe, and will have to contend with some of the most rugged Arctic conditions including hard packed shear ice and icebergs. The contract comes as Fednav Limited, one of the world’s largest operators of high ice-class vessels, has recently agreed a long term transportation contract with mining company Canadian Royalties Inc. for the shipping of concentrates from the Nunavik Nickel mine in northern Quebec. Rolls-Royce is a world leader in the design and manufacture of ice-classed propellers, and will supply a 6.5 metre diameter nickel aluminium bronze Kamewa propeller for the new vessel. The propeller will weigh 45 tonnes and will be powered by a 21.7MW, (or 29,000 horsepower) diesel engine. The propeller will be mounted inside a steel nozzle, to give protection from floating blocks of ice while increasing thrust as the ship pushes its way through the ice. When travelling through open water, the ship uses athird of its power to travel at 13 knots, but when breaking through thick ice, it needs all available power to maintain a speed of three knots. The new ship, which has a deadweight of 25,000 tonnes,will be designed and built in Japan by Universal Shipbuilding Corporation. It will meet stringent design and operational requirements including a reinforced hullto allow it to proceed in continuous mode through ice up to 1.5 metres thick.

BAe Systems Awarded £1.2bn contract for Fourth Astute Class Submarine

The UK Ministry of Defence has awarded BAe systems a contract worth £1.2bn for Audacious, the fourth submarine in the Astute class. The full contract covers the design, build, test and commissioning programme. First steel was cut in 2007 and Audacious is at an advanced stage of construction at BAE Systems’ site in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria. BAE Systems Maritime – Submarines Managing Director John Hudson said: “This is a very significant milestone for the company as it provides increased stability for the remainder of the programme. “More than 5,000 people are employed at Submarines with over half of these directly involved in the Astute programme, many in highly skilled, specialist positions, so today’s announcement is hugely welcomed. “The Astute class will deliver to the Royal Navy a fantastic attack submarine capability and both HMS Astute and Ambush are currently demonstrating this while on their sea trials. Audacious, and the rest of the submarines in the Astute class, will eventually complement those already at sea.” The MoD also confirmed that a further £1.5bn has been committed to the Astute programme for the remaining three submarines in the class, which includes early build work on boat 5, Anson, whose keel was laid in October, 2011. Audacious will include a number of design changes to the first three submarines in the Astute class. Most related to the submarine’s combat system – primarily its command, navigation and sonar systems. For the first time on a Royal Navy submarine this will use a shared computer environment for the different systems, common consoles and cabinets, and “commercial off-the-shelf” hard and software. They will make the system more cost effective and easier to maintain and update. These changes are due to be implemented on the remaining submarines in the class, and have been back-fitted to Boat 3, Artful. The eventual aim is to back-fit the “Common Combat System” to HMS Astute and Ambush, and progressively to the rest of the Royal Navy submarine fleet. Audacious, the fourth of a planned class of seven submarines, is nearly half way through its build programme with all of its pressure hull units now assembled in our main construction hall, awaiting full combination. The 97m-long Astute class submarines boast a range of world class capabilities. Powered by a sophisticated nuclear propulsion system, the reactor never needs refuelling. The sonar system has the processing power of 2,000 laptops and can track ships 3,000 milesaway. Armed with both Tomahawk land attack missiles and Spearfish torpedoes, its missiles have a target range of 1,200miles with accuracy measured in metres.