MV Monchegorsk (1983)
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MV ''Monchegorsk'' (''Мончегорск'') was an SA-15 type
cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's List of seas, seas and Ocean, oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. ...
built by
Wärtsilä Wärtsilä Oyj Abp (), trading internationally as Wärtsilä Corporation, is a Finnish corporation, Finnish company which manufactures and services power sources and other equipment in the Marine propulsion, marine and energy markets. The core ...
in
Turku Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Aura River (Finland), River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while t ...
,
Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
, in 1983. Named after a town of the same name, the freighter was the tenth ship of a series of 19
icebreaking An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters, and provide safe waterways for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller ...
multipurpose arctic freighters built by Wärtsilä and
Valmet Valmet Oyj, a Finnish company, is a developer and supplier of process technologies, automation systems and services for the pulp, paper, energy industries. Flow control serves a wider base of process industries. History 1999–2012 Valmet ...
for the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
for year-round service in the
Northern Sea Route The Northern Sea Route (NSR) (, shortened to Севморпуть, ''Sevmorput'') is a shipping route about long. The Northern Sea Route (NSR) is the shortest shipping route between the western part of Eurasia and the Asia-Pacific region. Ad ...
. These ships, designed to be capable of independent operation in arctic ice conditions, were of extremely robust design and had strengthened hulls resembling those of polar icebreakers. Initially delivered to the (then) state-owned
Murmansk Shipping Company Murmansk Shipping Company (), often abbreviated as MSCO, was a Russian shipping company based in Murmansk. It was one of the primary shipping companies operating in Arctic Russia and northern Europe, in 2014 the company had 303 vessels, with a to ...
and later handed over to its subsidiary,
NB Shipping NB, Nb, or nb may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''N.B.'' (album), an album by Natasha Bedingfield * ''NB'' (TV programme), a Scottish arts television programme that aired 1989–1997 Businesses * NB Global, a British investment company ...
, ''Monchegorsk'' sailed under the Soviet and later
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
n flag until 1993, after which she was registered to
Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
. She was sold for recycling in China in late 2009 after 26 years of service.


History


Development and construction

The history of the SA-15 class cargo ships dates back to the late 1970s when the leading Finnish shipbuilders Wärtsilä and Valmet both developed designs that met the requirements set by the
Ministry of the Merchant Marine of the Soviet Union Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian mi ...
(MORFLOT) for the new class of arctic cargo ships capable of year-round operation in the Northern Sea Route. An initial order for nine ships, six for Wärtsilä for
FIM FIM may refer to: Organizations and companies * Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, the International Motorcycling Federation * Flint Institute of Music, in Michigan, United States * Fox Interactive Media, now News Corp. Digital Media * ...
1.2 billionMiljarditilaus Wärtsilälle - Kuusi jäätämurtavaa monitoimialusta NL:oon. Navigator 9/80. Page 41. and three for Valmet for FIM 600 million,Uusi aluevaltaus Valmetille - Kolme arktisen liikenteen monikäyttöalusta NL:oon. Navigator 9/80. Page 42. was placed in July 1980. In the following year three more ships were ordered from Wärtsilä and two from Valmet, resulting in a total order of 14 ships worth of FIM 3.5 billion.Jättitilaus toimitettu. Navigator 5/84. While initially the idea of ordering two similar but technically different series of ships for the same purpose was to gain operational experience for the future arctic freighters, shortly after the deal was made public the shipyards approached Sudoimport to agree on a uniform design, resulting in a class of sub-arctic 15,000 DWT cargo ships, the SA-15 class.Kitagawa, H. et al
Northern Sea Route. Shortest Sea Route Linking East Asia and Europe.
Ship & Ocean Foundation, 2001. .
After the initial series Valmet received another follow-up order for five ships of slightly different design, sometimes referred to as the SA-15 Super class due to the minor improvements based on the operators' experiences in the arctic.Kaikesta Huolimatta: SA-15. Navigator 9/1984.


Career

''Monchegorsk'' was delivered by Wärtsilä in 1983 as the tenth ship of the series. While the ship belonged to the Murmansk Shipping Company (MSCO), a state-owned shipping company that operated mainly in the western parts of the Soviet arctic, she was sent to the east shortly after delivery due to the particularly difficult ice conditions of the winter of 1983. After years of service in the arctic the ownership and management of ''Monchegorsk'' was handed over to NB Shipping, a subsidiary of MSCO that operated a number of SA-15 class freighters, and moved to ice-free waters. On 9 February 2006 ''Monchegorsk'' collided with the
Brunsbüttel Brunsbüttel (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Bruunsbüddel'') is a town in the district of Dithmarschen, in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany that lies at the mouth of the Elbe river, near the North Sea. It is the location of the western entrance to t ...
locks in the
Kiel Canal The Kiel Canal (, until 1948 called in German the ) is a fresh water canal that links the North Sea () to the Baltic Sea (). It runs through the Germany, German states of Germany, state of Schleswig-Holstein, from Brunsbüttel to the Holtenau di ...
. The accident, caused by strong wind, happened when the locks, closed because of the very high tide, were reopened.MONCHEGORSK
Cargo Vessels International.
No major damage to either the ship or the locks was reported.


Evangelos Florakis Naval Base explosion

In early 2009, ''Monchegorsk'' became the centre of an international incident involving Iran, Russia, the US, Israel, the Palestinian territories and Cyprus. The ship was apprehended in the Red Sea by U.S. warships in
Task Force 151 Combined Task Force 151 (CTF-151) is a multinational naval task force, set up in 2009 as a response to Piracy in Somalia, piracy attacks in the Gulf of Aden and off the eastern coast of Somalia. Its mission is to disrupt piracy and armed robbery a ...
having left Iran. Following an onboard search suspicious military material was reported and the ship was escorted to Limassol Port on 29 January 2009. The ship, registered with the
Cyprus Merchant Marine The history of shipping in Cyprus traces back hundreds of years. Its geographical position at the crossroads of Europe, Asia and Africa as well as its proximity to the Suez Canal has historically favoured merchant shipping as an important industry ...
was then subject to an international diplomacy struggle as to the fate of its cargo. The US and Israel maintained that the cargo was in violation of
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1747 United Nations Security Council Resolution 1747 was a United Nations Security Council resolution, written with reference to some IAEA reports, that tightened the sanctions imposed on Iran in connection with the Iranian nuclear program. It was ...
which sanctions Iranian arms exports. Israel claimed that the intended destination of the cargo was Palestinian organizations in the Gaza strip, a claim that Iran denied. Cypriot authorities proceeded to a search of onboard containers, the result of which was referred to the security council for clarification. Once the breach was confirmed the cargo was confiscated and unloaded onto the island where it was stored in warehouses of the Cypriot National Guard. The inspection revealed
containers A container is any receptacle or enclosure for holding a product used in storage, packaging, and transportation, including shipping. Things kept inside of a container are protected on several sides by being inside of its structure. The term ...
carrying 120 mm, 122 mm, 125 mm, and 160 mm high
explosives An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An exp ...
that originated in Iran and were destined for Syria. Inspection also revealed 7.62 mm
shell casings A cartridge, also known as a round, is a type of pre-assembled firearm ammunition packaging a projectile (bullet, shot, or slug), a propellant substance (smokeless powder, black powder substitute, or black powder) and an ignition device ( pri ...
, compressed
gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...
, silver dollar-sized slugs,
primer Primer may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Primer'' (film), a 2004 feature film written and directed by Shane Carruth * ''Primer'' (video), a documentary about the funk band Living Colour Literature * Primer (textbook), a te ...
, and magnesium primers. More than two years later, on 11 July 2011, those same containers, stored in the open under clearly inappropriate conditions at the
Evangelos Florakis Navy Base The Evangelos Florakis Naval Base () is a Cyprus Navy base, situated on the island's southern coast adjacent to the Vasilikos industrial area and power plant, near Zygi, between Limassol and Larnaca. Operations Prior to 11 July 2011, it was th ...
near
Mari, Cyprus Mari (; or ) is a village in the Larnaca District of Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation ...
, exploded, leaving 13 people dead and 61 injured. The explosion created a 600-metre wide crater and caused the almost total destruction of the naval base and very severe damages to the nearby power station of Vasilikos. As a result of the damages sustained by the explosion, the Vasilikos power station, which accounted for more than half of all power production in Cyprus was disabled, causing a severe power shortage and rotating power cuts throughout the island. Since Cyprus gets much of its water from desalination plants, the power shortage also led to water shortage.


Decommissioning

The ship was sold for recycling in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
in late 2009 for US$316 per ton, resulting in a scrap price of US$3.4 million for a ship with a
light displacement The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into weig ...
of 10,816 tons. In 2008 a
double acting ship A double acting ship is a type of icebreaking ship designed to travel forwards in open water and thin ice, but turn around and proceed astern (backwards) in heavy ice conditions. In this way, the ship can operate independently in severe ice cond ...
operated by
Norilsk Nickel Norilsk Nickel (), or Nornickel, is a Russian nickel and palladium mining and smelting company. Its largest operations are located in the Norilsk–Talnakh area near the Yenisei River in the north of Siberia. It also has holdings in Nikel, Zapo ...
was named ''Monchegorsk'' after the SA-15 class freighter that had once supported the
Norilsk Norilsk ( rus, Нори́льск, p=nɐˈrʲilʲsk) is a closed city in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, located south of the western Taymyr Peninsula, around 90 km east of the Yenisei, Yenisey River and 1,500 km north of Krasnoyarsk. Norilsk is 300 ...
Dudinka Dudinka (; Nenets: Тут'ын, ''Tutꜧyn'') is a town on the Yenisei River and the administrative center of Taymyrsky Dolgano-Nenetsky District of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It used to be the administrative center of Taymyr Autonomous Okrug, ...
operation.


Design

The hull form of the ship, a result of intensive model tests in both open water and model ice, was very different from that of conventional merchant vessels, being more akin to polar icebreakers than traditional cargo ships. However, in addition to good icebreaking and manoeuvring capabilities in various ice conditions the vessel had to be able to operate in open water without bottom slamming or shipping of green water occurring in rough seas.Evolution of the SA-15 hull and propeller design. The Motor Ship, Volume 64, Issue 753, April 1983. Page 69. Despite the compromises the ship had impressive icebreaking capability — the SA-15 class ships were designed to break level ice up to one metre () in thickness with a snow layer of in continuous motion without icebreaker assistance. These ships were also the first freighters in ten years to be built to the highest Soviet ice class notation available for merchant ships, ULA. The ship had a maximum
overall length The overall length (OAL) of an ammunition cartridge is a measurement from the base of the brass shell casing to the tip of the bullet, seated into the brass casing. Cartridge overall length, or "COL", is important to safe functioning of reloads i ...
of or with the stern notch excluded. The breadth of the ship, like all other cargo ships operating in the Northern Sea Route, was limited to by the size of the escorting icebreakers. The shallow waters of the Northern Sea Route limited the draught to , but outside the arctic the cargo capacity of the ship could be increased by allowing the ice-strengthened parts of the hull to become submerged.Horensma, P
The Soviet Arctic
Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005. .
The harsh operating conditions of the arctic seas place high requirements on the strength, reliability and redundancy of the propulsion machinery, especially for single-screw ships operating independently without icebreaker escort. For this reason the robust propulsion system had several innovative features and prototype arrangements to improve the ship's operational capability. Propulsion power was provided by two 14-cylinder
Wärtsilä Wärtsilä Oyj Abp (), trading internationally as Wärtsilä Corporation, is a Finnish corporation, Finnish company which manufactures and services power sources and other equipment in the Marine propulsion, marine and energy markets. The core ...
- Sulzer 14ZV40/48 4-stroke medium-speed diesel engines running on heavy fuel oil, each with a maximum continuous output of at 560 rpm. As a precaution against failure of the propeller pitch control mechanism the main engines were directly reversible. The main engines were connected to a single propeller shaft through a double input/single output single-stage
reduction gear A gear train or gear set is a machine element of a mechanical system formed by mounting two or more gears on a frame such that the teeth of the gears engage. Gear teeth are designed to ensure the pitch circles of engaging gears roll on each oth ...
equipped with separate multi disc
clutch A clutch is a mechanical device that allows an output shaft to be disconnected from a rotating input shaft. The clutch's input shaft is typically attached to a motor, while the clutch's output shaft is connected to the mechanism that does th ...
es and
Voith The Voith Group is a global technology company. With its broad portfolio of systems, products, services and digital applications, Voith trades in the markets of energy, paper, raw materials and transport. Founded in 1867, Voith today has aroun ...
fluid coupling A fluid coupling or hydraulic coupling is a hydrodynamics, hydrodynamic or 'hydrokinetic' device used to transmit rotating mechanical power.
s. The hydrodynamic couplings that allow over 100% slipping between input and output shafts were used in difficult ice conditions to increase propeller torque and protect the main engines from large torque variations resulting from propeller blades hitting the ice.Häkkinen, P. Laivan koneistot. TKK laivalaboratorio, M-179, Otaniemi, 1993. . The fully locking mechanical clutches were used to improve fuel efficiency when the ship is operating in open water or light ice conditions. Because the power output per shaft of the SA-15 class freighters was at that time one of the highest among icebreaking ships, second only to the ''Arktika'' class
nuclear icebreaker A nuclear-powered icebreaker is an icebreaker with an Nuclear marine propulsion, onboard nuclear power plant that produces power for the vessel's propulsion system. Although more expensive to operate, nuclear-powered icebreakers provide a number ...
s, the propeller of the ship was of extremely robust design. The four-bladed
stainless steel Stainless steel, also known as inox, corrosion-resistant steel (CRES), or rustless steel, is an iron-based alloy that contains chromium, making it resistant to rust and corrosion. Stainless steel's resistance to corrosion comes from its chromi ...
controllable-pitch propeller was developed and manufactured by
KaMeWa AB Karlstads Mekaniska Werkstad (''trans.'' Karlstad Mechanical Works Ltd), known as Kamewa, was a Swedish manufacturing company in the city of Kristinehamn. Kamewa started as a brand name of the controllable-pitch propellers manufactured by KM ...
specially for the SA-15 project. Being a multipurpose general cargo ship, the vessel was capable of carrying a wide variety of cargo ranging from general and dry bulk cargoes to containers, heavy cargo, long goods and trailers. The ship had five holds fitted with tweendecks, four forwards and one abaft of the superstructure. The ship, designed to serve the remote arctic regions, was also equipped with flexible winterized cargo handling equipment for loading and unloading in undeveloped ports. For loading and unloading of general cargo, containers and bulk cargo the ship was geared with four deck cranes located on the centerline, one on the aft deck and three forwards of the superstructure. On the continuous tweendeck the ship could also carry roll-on/roll-off cargo which was loaded and unloaded via a stern quarter ramp that could also be lowered directly on ice.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Monchegorsk Container ships Merchant ships of Cyprus 1983 ships Ships built in Turku Valmet Murmansk Shipping Company Cargo ships of Russia