Oil Patch Insider

Icebreakers head to Alaska for Shell

Offshore Shipping Online said June 11 that Finstaship had reported the departure of the icebreaker Fennica from Norway for the northern coast of Alaska.

The multi-purpose vessel is expected?to arrive off Prudhoe Bay in late July.

Fennica and Tor Viking II, the Norwegian icebreaker chartered by Finland-based Finstaship, will provide Shell Offshore with Arctic offshore services, OSO reported. OSO said Tor Viking II left for Alaska from Stavanger, Norway on May 15, “visiting first Port Fourchon, Louisiana on the Gulf of Mexico, and then Dutch Harbor, Alaska. It is expected to arrive in late June in Dutch Harbor.

According to OSO, under the terms of a?three-year charter contract between Finstaship and Shell, Finstaship is chartering “two multi-purpose icebreakers with crew” from May to December in the years 2007, 2008 and 2009. (Paperwork filed with permitting agencies by Shell indicates all work will be done sometime in November.)