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The M/V Aiviq icebreaker, con- tracted by Shell Oil to supportdrilling in Alaska?s Chukchi Sea, was ordered in July 2009 and completed by Edison Chouest Off- shore in early 2012. The $200m Aiviq is the largest vessel ever built by Chouest, and will be among the most advanced and powerful, non-military icebreakers on the waters. In order for a ship to be ?ice class,? the hull must be thick, and extra girders, beams and bulkheads are needed for structural integrity. The Aiviq is de- signed to American Bureau of Shipping A3 capabilities to operate in frigid,minus-40-degree Fahrenheit tempera- tures, and can slash through a meter ofice with 20 centimeters of snow at 5 knots. Crafted specially for harsh win-ter conditions, the ship can also work in Alaska the rest of the year. The vessel is being built to Interna- tional Maritime Organization's Polar Code 3, and measures 111.8 m long,with a 22-m beam and 22-m draft. ?Ithas hybrid generators, noise-reduction equipment, and meets or exceeds the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Tier 4 emission standards,? said Shell Oil spokesman Curtis Smith. Because the ship will be stationed far from med- ical facilities, is it outfitted with a hos- pital on board. ?Like other vessels in the Chouest fleet, we designed the Aiviq, built it and will operate it,? said ECO spokesman Lonnie Thibodeaux. ?We will crew the Aiviq, and personnel from Shell will be on the vessel too.? The icebreaker can accommodate 65 staff in cruise-ship- like quarters. While South Louisiana, which seldomsees snow, may be an unlikely place to produce icebreakers, Thibodeaux said ?we built the Nanuq ice-class supply vessel for Shell in 2007 and have also built two icebreakers for the National Science Foundation.? The Nanuq was outfitted with oil-spill-response capabil- ities well before the 2010 Macondo spillin the Gulf, he noted. Aiviq is designed to work in tandem with the Nanuq. Aiviq is designed with the habits of marine animals in mind.?We're being as proactive as possible in an effort to reduce our overall sound footprint,? Smith said. ?Insonification is a significant issue for stakeholders who rely on marine mammals for subsistencehunting.? Man-made noises disrupt mammals communicating via the emis-sion of sounds in water, often at great distances.(Photo Courtesy Shell) M/V AiviqChouest Delivers Giant Icebreaker To Shell December 2012www.marinelink.com 45MR#12 (42-49):MR Template 12/4/2012 2:33 PM Page 45