Achievements

Ice Management off the coast of Newfoundland

Services :

Marine Construction Contractors :  Marine Equipment Rental, Marine Transportation

Ship Owners and Agents :  Towing and Escort

For the first time last year, Ocean Group assisted Atlantic in the ice management support for Husky Energy's drilling platform just off the coast of Newfoundland by supplying the necessary vessels to carry out the operations. Ice management is a required element of physical environmental programs for oil and gas exploration or production drilling operations taking place in regions in which sea ice or icebergs can occur. 

The standard method for deflecting an iceberg posing a threat to offshore facilities is to encircle the berg with a heavy floating rope which can act as a bridle from which the berg may be towed by a powerful and versatile tug. For larger icebergs, the objective is to deflect the ice mass by a few degrees from its naturally preferred route.

The East Coast and Newfoundland can be a high traffic area for many icebergs in their
journey south from the fjords of Greenland. Icebergs are moved by both the wind and ocean currents, and typically spend one to three years traveling a distance up to 2897 k (1800 miles) to the waters of Newfoundland.