Ice Buoys
We design and develop manufacturing technique for glass-fiber ice buoy for the Baltic Sea and other northern seas regions.
The main requirement for the buoy is its suitability for ice and heavy weather conditions of northern seas and rivers estuaries with seasonal ice drift.
During design process, the following issues were addressed:
weight reduction; the possibility of maintenance, laying and removing the buoy with the use of small craft
absence of corrosion; no need in regular painting
easy repair requiring no special equipment
the option to leave the buoy in the ice (without top mark) for the winter period
perfect floatability (buoy is filled with polyurethane foam)
no need in painting (the glass-fiber material of the buoy's body is colored, so scratches do not affect the buoy color)
light ice protection
durability
easy changes of buoy form in the process of manufacturing
a catamaran for handling (laying/lifting) buoys has been designed
Sample buoys were constructed and tried in the Baltic Sea winter conditions. Buoy design allows it to submerge under the pressure of drift ice; after ice passes, buoy re-emerges. During the entire ice period buoys performance was ideal. After the ice drift all buoys resurfaced in perfect condition.