The Swedish Polar Research Secretariat's yearbook contains information about the Secretariat's activities, annual accounts and cruise reports from the research projects.
The Swedish Polar Research Secretariat has no research vessels of its own, but rather charters vessels for its various expeditions.
The icebreaker Oden. Photo: Björn Eriksson
The icebreaker Oden was delivered by the Götaverken Arendal shipyards to the Swedish Maritime Administration in January 1989, and has since made many research voyages to the Arctic and Antarctic. Its first major expedition was in 1991, when Oden, together with the German research vessel Polarstern, reached the North Pole.
Oden is a world-class icebreaker and an excellent research vessel. The Swedish Polar Research Secretariat had a hand in her design, and has recently upgraded Oden into one of the leading research platforms in the polar oceans. Oden is equipped with an advanced multibeam echo sounder.
To date, the icebreaker has made voyages to the Arctic, in 1989, 1990, 1991, 1996, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011. On 7 September 1991, Oden became the first non-atomic-powered vessel to reach the North Pole. Oden has been to the North Pole five more times since then, most recently on 22 August 2009.
In the last four years, Oden has also sailed the southern latitudes under the auspices of a Swedish–American cooperative project, Oden Southern Ocean. Oden was chartered by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to break an ice channel to the American McMurdo Research Station on the Ross Sea during the 2006/07, 2007/08, 2008/09, 2009/10 and 2010/11 Antarctic research seasons. Swedish and American researchers conducted marine research projects while plying the Antarctic waters, using Oden as a research platform.
Length: 107.69 m
Beam: 31.08 m
Builder: Götaverken, Arendal, Göteborg
Completed: 1988
Call Sign: SMLQ
IMO Number: 8700876
Home Port: Norrköping
Class: DNV 1A1, Ice Breaker, Polar 20, Crane, E0, Heldk, Naut-B
Present Class: GL (Germanischer Lloyd) och Transportstyrelsen
Gross Tonnage: 9 605
MMSI Number: 265182000
Max People Onboard: 86 (as special purpose)
Main Engines: 4 Sultzer 8ZA 405
Draft Operation: 7.0–8.5 m
Displacement: 11,000–13,000 tonnes
Total Engine Power: 18,000 kw
Owner: Sjöfartsverket
Speed in Open Water: 16 knots
Ice Breaking Capability: 1,9 level ice at 3 knots
Crew: <22
Heavy Fuel Oil: 3 380 m3
Diesel Oil: 990 m3
Lubricating Oil: 100 m3
Fresh water: 310 m3
Ballast Water incl. Heeling Tanks: 3,650 m3
Fresh Water Generator: 20 m3/day
Provision: 80 people/100 days (can be increased)
Towing Winch: 150 tonnes towing pull, brake holding 300 tonnes
A-Frame: 15 tonnes
Crane on Aft Deck: 10 tonnes at 10 m radius
Sky Lift on Forward Deck: Hook load 1.5 tonnes in basket
Container Capacity: 40 TEU, containers can be connected to ship's system, such as electricity, communication, water, sewage
Moon Pool: For drilling operations
Helicopter deck, large aft deck
Oden's hull thickness is 44 mm.
Several other vessels have been chartered by the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat and used as expeditionary ships: 50 Let Pobedy (LOMROG), Louis S. St-Laurent (Tundra Northwest 1999), SA Agulhas (SWEDARP 1997/98), Polar Queen, now called Ernest Shackleton (SWEDARP 1996/97), and Akademik Fedorov (SWEDARP 1991/92, Tundra Ecology -94 and SWEDARP 1999/2000 and 2002/03).
The Swedish Polar Research Secretariat's yearbook contains information about the Secretariat's activities, annual accounts and cruise reports from the research projects.
The Swedish Polar Research Secretariat and Swedish Research Council have established a shared roadmap for support to research projects in polar regions outside Sweden.
