Classification of Icebreakers – Updates to Requirements

Lloyd’s Register (LR) is currently developing requirements for icebreakers. In support of this activity, a series of work programs have been undertaken to ensure alignment with current and future industry application. The work programs includes a re-evaluation of the classed fleet; a series of interactive workshops with icebreaker Captains representing a variety of ice covered sea areas of operation; and ship structural nonlinear finite element (FE) analyses. The objectives of these tasks were to validate current classifications requirements for ice going ships and compare as a basis a number of previous successful icebreaker designs with actual operations. Representative structural configurations (based upon actual icebreakers) were selected for detailed hull structural assessment and this was supplemented with detailed descriptions of the operations of the ships, provided by icebreaker Masters. This paper presents some of the results from the work programs of which elements are incorporated into the update to Lloyd's Register’s rule requirements for icebreakers.