WITH the Arctic being a new and challenging frontier that presents opportunities for both general shipping and offshore support vessels servicing the emerging and growing energy sector
Second Arctic Shipping Technology Conference to be held in London in FebruaryWITH the Arctic being a new and challenging frontier that presents opportunities for both general shipping and offshore support vessels servicing the emerging and growing energy sector, the non-governmental organisation, the Institute of Marine, Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST), is staging its second Arctic Shipping Technology Conference in London on February 4-5, 2014.
Conference speakers from Finland, France, Germany, Norway, Russia and the UK will discuss and demonstrate solutions to the technical challenges of operating ships in a safe, environmentally compliant and profitable way in this hostile and highly regulated environment.
"The business case for a Northern Sea route (NSR) delivering impressive savings in transit times, fuel savings and reduced emissions is well understood by shipping, as are the opportunities to service the oil and gas industry developing the Arctic's energy resources," said John Carlton, Professor of Marine Engineering, City University London and a past president of IMarEST.
"Servicing the oil and gas industry in this inhospitable environment presents special challenges for the offshore support sector, at least equal to those transiting the NSR. Things are moving on fast and it is true to say that while shipping leaders see opportunities to reduce transit times to markets and for servicing the offshore sector, it will be engineers who provide solutions to the engineering and technical challenges of operating in this region," he said.
"IMarEST and its members are particularly well placed to respond to questions posed by the technical and regulatory challenges of operating in Arctic waters. The answers they produce will determine the attractiveness, in terms of both economics and environmental safety, of operating in these conditions. It is these challenges - and some of the answers - that will be presented and discussed during our two-day event in February."