Future Ship Research Vessel Aurora Borealis

gCaptain tells us: The most technologically advanced drillship in the world is not on
lovaton in the gulf of mexico or in a Korean shipyard. Actually it’s
not even built yet. Meet the Aurora Borealis, a dynamically positioned,
drillship/icebreaker, arctic research vessel designed for the European
Union. The official website tells us;

The Research Icebreaker AURORA BOREALIS will be the most
advanced Polar Research Vessel in the world with a multi-functional
role of drilling in deep ocean basins and supporting
climate/environmental research for the next 40 years.

The new technological features will include azimuth propulsion
systems, satellite navigation, ice-management support, deep-sea
drilling under a closed sea-ice cover and the deployment and operation
of Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV) and Autonomous Underwater Vehicles
(AUV) from one of the two moon-pools.

The unique feature of the vessel is the drilling rig, which will
enable sampling of the ocean floor down to 5000 m water depth and with
1000 m penetration into the seafloor at the most inhospitable places on
earth. The drilling capability will be deployed in both polar regions
and AURORA BOREALIS will be the only vessel worldwide to undertake this
type of scientific investigation.

Technical Details:

• Powerful icebreaker with ca. 55 MW (diesel-electric)

• Highest classification for icebreakers

• Twin hull

• Two moon pools 7 x 7 m each

• Dynamic Positioning System

• Deep-sea drilling under a closed sea-ice cover

• Drilling rig: max. 5,000 m water depth and 1,000 m core

• Riserless drilling technology

• Modularized mobile laboratory systems - mission specific laboratories

Length over all ca. 180 m | Beam ca. 40 m | Personnel (crew + scientists) 120 | Expedition duration 60 days.

For more information on the Aurora Borealis visit the official website
HERE or download the presentation
HERE. For the oceanography geeks a more detailed study can be found
HERE.