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January 2011 www.sname.org/sname/mt award and completed before start of con- struction. The DVT effort is important: It is a funded, scheduled task requiring the builder to develop a comprehensive engi- neered package presenting the vessel they intend to build, which conrms their under- standing and the feasibility of the contract design. While the DVT eort is well under- way, it is not yet complete and our purpose here is to share the contract design congu- ration of the vessel. Funding for new vessel acquisition pro- grams in the academic eet is, like many scientific funding programs, a political process that requires careful planning and judicious timing. By maintaining the energy and discipline to continue planning and design development of the research vessel envisioned for service in the Alaska region despite a decade of bleak funding possibilities, NSF and UAF were uniquely positioned to take advantage of funding opportunities. The funding opportunity for the Sikuliaq stems from the worldwide economic downturn in 2008 and the result- ing American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, where funding was provided by NSF to UAF for construction of the Alaska region research vessel. After the design refresh, UAF released the request for proposals for the vessels construction in March 2009, and subse- quently awarded the shipyard contract to Marinette Marine Corporation in Marinette, Wisconsin in December 2009. e $123 mil- lion construction contract, currently in the DVT phase, targets a January 2013 delivery in the Great Lakes. Transits and science tri- als are scheduled to ll the rest of the year, making Sikuliaq available to Alaskas sci- ence community in late 2013. Design overview e Sikuliaq incorporates an ecient, mod- ern ice-capable hull form, developed in conjunction with AKAC, Inc., of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. e hull incorpo- rates state-of-the-art icebreaking features, and is tuned to achieve requisite ice break- ing performance in rst-year ice conditions while minimizing unnecessary degradation in open-water performance. All modern icebreaker hull forms seek to break ice by a combination of bend- ing and crushing, with ice-bending being the more ecient mechanism. e gen- tle slope of the bow of Sikuliaq follows this trend. The bow incorporates an ice knife, which is a wedge-shaped structure at the forward end of the keel that pushes broken ice outboard and under the sur- rounding ice sheet; this creates a relatively clear, ice-free channel as well as reducing propeller-ice interaction. e addition of modest ice reamers on either side of the bow increases the width of the broken ice channel beyond the main hull beam and enhances critical maneuverabil- ity by enabling the stern room to swing. Maneuverability is further enhanced by the integration of powerful, ice-rated, azi- muthing Z-drive thrusters arranged in a tractor conguration at the stern, which enables precise control of hull position and, thus, takes full advantage of the channel width when turning. Open-water performance, in partic- ular bow slamming and roll motions in waves, has limited the effectiveness of many similar vessels for non-ice missions. Particular care was taken in the develop- ment of this hull to incorporate as much deadrise as possible in the attened bow sections to mitigate slamming issues. Similarly, a relatively sharp bilge radius is carried through the midship region and augmented by an anti-roll tank to pro- vide eective roll damping. e nal hull form provides a highly capable open-water platform, which will be able to support sci- entic operations through sea state 5. The evolving hull forms were tested extensively at model scale in both ice-test- ing facilities (complete with model-scale ice) and more typical open-water facilities, to conrm empirical ice capability and ana- lytical open-water performance predictions. Test results have validated that the hull form, while in some respects a compromise as it is neither a full icebreaker nor dedicated open-water hull form, provides excellent seakeeping qualities and full compliance with required ice capability. ese results demonstrate that Sikuliaq will eectively support year-round science access through- out the Alaskan arctic regions. In addition to a unique hull form, the Sikuliaq scientic mission is enhanced by a number of mechanical system features designed to minimize impact (direct as well as potential) on the sensitive arctic envi- ronments being studied. Re ecting recent regulatory guidance and current best prac- tice, the vessel incorporates a diesel-electric prime powerplant designed for compli- ance with EPA TierII and MARPOL Annex VI emission requirements, and all tanks carrying polluting liquids (fuels, lube oils, and bilge sources) are tted with protective voids isolating them from the vessel shell. An onboard incinerator and trash compac- tion system will facilitate waste handling on extended duration voyages, and a unique, The $123 million construction contract, currently in the DVT phase, targets a January 2013 delivery in the Great Lakes.