Norwegian Work on Search and Rescue in Barents Sea

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik Dyrkoren ◽  
Tor Einar Berg
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Response ◽  
Emerging Technologies ◽  
Barents Sea ◽  
Search And Rescue ◽  
State Of Emergency ◽  
Future State ◽  
The Barents Sea ◽  
Future Search ◽  
Near Future ◽  
Offshore Activities

Increased shipping and offshore activities in the Barents Sea need improved emergency response capability in Norway and Russia. In both countries there are several projects and initiatives that aim towards mitigating the consequences from small accidents and larger catastrophes, some coordinated across borders, others not. In this paper we aim towards giving an overview of the current and near future state of emergency response in the Barents Sea. First we describe the emergency response preparedness that is fully operational today. Then we give a brief description of operations and activities we see today and in the foreseen future, and discuss types of challenges and risks associated with them in this particular environment. Using this as a background, we look on Norway’s ambitions for future search and rescue preparedness in the Norwegian Arctic waters and the ways emerging technologies can improve emergency response operations. Finally we give some recommendations on what needs to be done by Norway, Russia and the industrial operators in order to achieve an improved level of emergency response preparedness.

Safety at Sea: Improving Search and Rescue (SAR) Operations in the Barents Sea

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tor Einar Berg ◽  
Even Ambros Holte ◽  
Grethe Osborg Ose ◽  
Hilde Færevik
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
Barents Sea ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Search And Rescue ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Safe Haven ◽  
The Barents Sea ◽  
Life Saving ◽  
Future Search

In this paper, we select some of the crucial issues for future search and rescue (SAR) operations in the Barents Sea. The different nations that are involved and the resources necessary to build emergency preparedness due to the climatic conditions are thus important factors. This paper summarizes the state of the art within these areas while also indicating future development needs. The special requirements for life saving equipment on vessels due to the climate and requirement on personal protective equipment related to accidental immersion are also essential and thus presented in this paper. In addition, safe haven designs where the vessel itself is designed to provide shelter for personnel in distress is also a topic chosen to be addressed.

Long-Range Rescue Capability for Operations in the Barents Sea

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sigurd R. Jacobsen ◽  
Ove T. Gudmestad
Keyword(s):  
Long Range ◽  
Emergency Response ◽  
Joint Venture ◽  
Barents Sea ◽  
Cold Water ◽  
Water Immersion ◽  
Petroleum Industry ◽  
Search And Rescue ◽  
Petroleum Exploration ◽  
The Barents Sea

The purpose of this paper is to examine the feasibility of providing long-range search and rescue for personnel in the Barents Sea. This may be due to a helicopter ditching or accident while en route to or from an offshore petroleum installation in the Barents Sea or a maritime accident. The paper will propose a combination of a SAR helicopter and multipurpose emergency response vessels. The paper will illustrate improved search and rescue capacity both for personnel involved in the petroleum industry and others i.e., fisheries, maritime transport and tourism. The basis for this paper is petroleum exploration activity in the far North Eastern area of the Norwegian sector of the Barents Sea. The area is currently being evaluated in a process that most probably will lead to opening the area for oil and gas exploration. There is currently little or no infrastructure in the area beyond the coast. The paper considers a method to provide SAR coverage over a distance of 260 nautical miles with a minimum rescue capacity of 21 persons within two hours. Issues related to survival in cold water, immersion survival suits and performance requirements for search and rescue resources will be considered in order to provide an optimum combination and enhanced probability of survival if an incident should occur. Operational considerations involving departure criteria for helicopter transport should be developed in order to ensure that persons travelling on a helicopter to remote locations in the Barents Sea have a reasonable prospect of surviving a helicopter ditching and subsequently being rescued. Multipurpose Emergency Response Vessels, ERVs, equipped with dual Fast Recovery Daughter Craft, FRDC, capable of operating in an Arctic climate deployed at the remote location and en route together with an onshore based search and rescue, SAR, helicopter may provide a rescue capacity for 21 persons within 120 minutes. As vessels of the type proposed in this paper may be of a benefit to all stakeholders performing activities in the Barents Sea, joint venture financing by the authorities, petroleum, maritime, fishing and tourism industries could be considered.

scholarly journals Assessment of Helicopter Emergency Response Capacity in the Barents Sea

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marion Jakobsen ◽  
Aleksandar-Saša Milaković ◽  
Sören Ehlers
Keyword(s):  
Simulation Model ◽  
Emergency Response ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Barents Sea ◽  
Search And Rescue ◽  
Prevailing Wind ◽  
The Barents Sea ◽  
Response Capacity ◽  
Time Requirements ◽  
The Given

As the global demand for energy is increasing, oil and gas exploration is moving further north to more remote areas. Offshore activity in these areas is challenging. Arctic-specific environmental conditions, long distances from onshore facilities and general lack of infrastructure are some of the challenges faced. Therefore, new and more robust solutions — both on technological and operational side — are required before commencing operations safely in these areas. In this paper, a helicopter emergency response capacity — with respect to prevailing wind conditions — for operations in the Barents Sea is studied and a method for mapping the rescue capacity in the given area is presented. The goal is to develop a method capable of assessing the probability of a successful rescue at different locations within given time requirements and under prevailing wind conditions. This is accomplished using a simulation model capable to determine how the wind speed and direction affect the search and rescue helicopter operations in the Barents Sea. The simulation model uses historical wind data along a potential route as input for evaluating the flying time to different locations in an area under the given wind conditions. In addition to the wind conditions, the variation in recovery time, and mobilisation time is implemented into the simulation model. By running the simulation model multiple times, probability distributions of the number of personnel which can be recovered within the given time requirements are established. This information is then used to plot isocurves of equal rescue probability on top of a map of the Barents Sea. Based on the results, it is concluded that wind conditions have significant effect on rescue capacity of a helicopter, and thus thorough weather observations should be made before establishing a search and rescue system for a given area.

To Cooperate or Not? Why Working Together is Essential in the Arctic

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 (1) ◽  
pp. 1146-1165
Author(s):  
Johan Marius Ly ◽  
Rune Bergstrøm ◽  
Ole Kristian Bjerkemo ◽  
Synnøve Lunde
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Response ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Barents Sea ◽  
Oil Pollution ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Response Analysis ◽  
The Barents Sea ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
Second Year

Abstract The Norwegian Arctic covers Svalbard, Bear Island, Jan Mayen and the Barents Sea. 80% of all shipping activities in the Arctic are within Norwegian territorial waters and the Exclusive Economic Zone. To reduce the risk for accidents, the Norwegian authorities have established several preventive measures. Among these are ship reporting systems, traffic separation schemes in international waters and surveillance capabilities. If an accident has occurred and an oil spill response operation must be organized - resources, equipment, vessels and manpower from Norwegian and neighboring states will be mobilized. In 2015, the Norwegian Coastal Administration finalized an environmental risk-based emergency response analysis for shipping incidents in the Svalbard, Bear Island and Jan Mayen area. This scenario-based analysis has resulted in a number of recommendations that are currently being implemented to be better prepared for oil spill response operations in the Norwegian Arctic. Further, a large national oil spill response exercise in 2016 was based on one of these scenarios involving at sea and onshore oil spill response at Svalbard. The 2016 exercise, working within the framework of the Agreement on Cooperation on Marine Oil Pollution Preparedness and Response in the Arctic between Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the USA (Arctic Council 2013), focused on a shipping incident in the Norwegian waters in the Barents Sea, close to the Russian border. Every year, as part of the Russian – Norwegian Oil Spill Response Agreement and the SAR Agreement in the Barents Sea, combined SAR and oil spill response exercises are organized. These are held every second year in Russia and every second year in Norway. There is an expected increased traffic and possible increased risk for accidents in the Arctic waters. In order to build and maintain an emergency response system to this, cooperation between states, communities, private companies and other stakeholders is essential. It is important that all actors that operate and have a role in the Arctic are prepared and able to help ensure the best possible emergency response plans. We depend on one another, this paper highlights some of the ongoing activities designed to strengthen the overall response capabilities in the Arctic.

Long-Range Rescue Helicopter Missions in the Arctic

2004 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 158-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rolf Haagensen ◽  
Karl-Åke Sjøborg ◽  
Anders Rossing ◽  
Henry Ingilæ ◽  
Lars Markengbakken ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Barents Sea ◽  
Heart Diseases ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Search And Rescue ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Industrial Accidents ◽  
Rescue Helicopter ◽  
The Barents Sea ◽  
Closed Fractures ◽  
The Right

AbstractBackground:Search and rescue helicopters from the Royal Norwegian Air Force conduct ambulance and search and rescue missions in the Barents Sea. The team on-board includes an anesthesiologist and a paramedic. Operations in this area are challenging due to long distances, severe weather conditions, and arctic winter darkness.Methods:One-hundred, forty-seven ambulance and 29 search and rescue missions in the Barents Sea during 1994–1999 were studied retrospectively with special emphasis on operative conditions and medical results.Results and Discussion:Thirty-five percent of the missions were carried out in darkness. The median time from the alarm to first patient contact was 3.3 hours and the median duration of the missions was 7.3 hours. Forty-eight percent of the missions involved ships of foreign origin. Half the patients had acute illnesses, dominated by gastrointestinal and heart diseases. Most of the injuries resulted from industrial accidents with open and closed fractures, amputations, and soft tissue damage. Ninety percent of the patients were hospitalized; 7.5% probably would not have survived without early medical treatment and rapid transportation to a hospital.Conclusion:Using a heavy search and rescue helicopter in the Barents Sea was the right decision in terms of medical gain and operative risk.

Method application of optimal multi-parameter analysis to assess the distribution of water masses as an example of CTD data of the Barents Sea in summer 2017

2019 ◽  
pp. 38-51
Author(s):  
Valeriy G. Yakubenko ◽  
Anna L. Chultsova
Keyword(s):  
Barents Sea ◽  
Field Measurements ◽  
Structural Similarity ◽  
Water Masses ◽  
Parameter Analysis ◽  
Water Dynamics ◽  
Phosphorus Concentration ◽  
Nitrogen And Phosphorus ◽  
The Barents Sea ◽  
Expert Assessments

Identification of water masses in areas with complex water dynamics is a complex task, which is usually solved by the method of expert assessments. In this paper, it is proposed to use a formal procedure based on the application of the method of optimal multiparametric analysis (OMP analysis). The data of field measurements obtained in the 68th cruise of the R/V “Academician Mstislav Keldysh” in the summer of 2017 in the Barents Sea on the distribution of temperature, salinity, oxygen, silicates, nitrogen, and phosphorus concentration are used as a data for research. A comparison of the results with data on the distribution of water masses in literature based on expert assessments (Oziel et al., 2017), allows us to conclude about their close structural similarity. Some differences are related to spatial and temporal shifts of measurements. This indicates the feasibility of using the OMP analysis technique in oceanological studies to obtain quantitative data on the spatial distribution of different water masses.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document