On March 26 the nuclear-powered ice-breaker “Taimyr” of the FSUE “Atomflot” successfully completed the escorting the cargo-vessel “Yuri Arshenevsky” brining construction loads to the transpolar Sabetta port on the Yamal peninsula (Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area). Space images served as the source of updated information about ice situation along the route of the caravan, navigating through the Kara Sea and Gulf of Ob.
Activities on providing satellite images and real-time data were carried out by ScanEx RDC specialists per request of the FSUE “Atomflot”. For the first time in addition to radar images results of the highly detailed optical imagery were used for operational information support in order to assess the situation at the approach ways to Sabetta port.
“Taimyr” ice-breaker left its port of registration Murmansk on March 19 and successfully escorted the “Yuri Arshenevsky” motor-vessel of the OAO “Murmansk Marine Company” loaded with the cargo for the construction of the first Sabetta port quays and infrastructural facilities of the gas-condensate field per “Yamal-CPG” project. On March 28 “Captain Vishnyakov” vessel left Arkhangelsk heading to Sabetta and on April 1 it was met by “Taimyr” ice-breaker at the ice edge at the Barents Sea.
The winter 2013 navigation season was quite difficult in the Gulf of Ob in terms of ice situation. Long ranges of ice hummocks could be clearly seen on space images, which the ice-breaker had to force through.
The open-sky weather conditions set within the area enabled to get high resolution optical images (0.7-2.5 m) every day during the whole week covering a vast water territory of 60 km x 120 km in size. The unique multi-temporal imagery displays, how in preparation to the cargo-vessel arrival an offloading site was cleaned and upgraded on the shore ice to receive the cargo and ice roads were made to take out the goods. The approach of the caravan and the start of “Yuri Arshenevsky” motor-vessel offloading operations were also imaged.
Operational information, received from five RS satellites, enabled to get the big picture of the situation within the area of the ships navigation and to optimize their routes.
