Aurora Borealis (icebreaker)

rough sketch of ERI Aurora Borealis
History
NameAurora Borealis
NamesakeAurora Borealis
OperatorEuropean Science Foundation
Cost
  • 800 M€
  • <500 M€ (Aurora Slim)
General characteristics (initial concept)[1]
TypeIcebreaker
Displacement65,000 tons
Length199.85 m (655.7 ft)
Beam
  • 49 m (161 ft) (moulded)
  • 45 m (148 ft) (waterline)
Draught13 m (43 ft)
Ice classPolar Class 1
Installed powerEight main generators, 94 MW
Propulsion
  • Diesel-electric; three shafts (3 × 27 MW)
  • Three fixed-pitch propellers
  • Six retractable transverse thrusters (4.5 MW each)
Speed
  • 15.5 knots (28.7 km/h; 17.8 mph) (max)
  • 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) (cruising)
  • 2–3 knots (3.7–5.6 km/h; 2.3–3.5 mph) in 2.5 m (8.2 ft) multi-year ice
Endurance90 days
CrewAccommodations for 120 personnel (science and crew)
Aviation facilities2 helipads, hangar for 3 helicopters

Aurora Borealis is a proposed European research icebreaker, comparable to the world's strongest icebreakers,[2] planned jointly by a consortium of fifteen participant organizations and companies[3] from ten European nations. If built, she would be the largest icebreaker ever built as well as the first icebreaker built to the highest IACS ice class, Polar Class 1.

The unique feature of the proposed vessel is its ability to perform scientific deep sea drilling in a sea ice covered ocean. The ship is proposed to have an operational lifetime of 35 to 40 years, with the main area of operations being the inner Arctic Ocean.

  1. ^ Technical details Archived April 25, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. European Research Icebreaker AURORA BOREALIS. Retrieved 2011-12-23.
  2. ^ Data Sheet for Overview Archived October 30, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2012-10-09.
  3. ^ "Aurora Borealis: European Research Icebreaker". European Science Foundation. Archived from the original on April 16, 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-25.