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SAMC
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• ANNUAL REPORT 2013
The Securus system observing marine mammal activity at
night.
An obvious consequence of this interaction is the
creation of spin-off activities that are born in the form
of ‘Associated Projects’. Kuiper says that because of
the “continuous communication in the EIAC meetings
between the industry and the researchers, potential
opportunities for collaboration arise quickly.” Within
the SAMCoT research frame, these activities expand
the initial set boundaries defined in the project descrip-
tion, and take research to the desired next level. Only
the great commitment and initiative of SAMCoT Industry
Partners makes this possible.
Statoil set an important precedent when it financed the
Oden Arctic Technology Research Cruise in 2012 and
2013 (OATRC 2012&2013). These associated projects
are the perfect scenario to test technologies and obtain
valuable full-scale information in order to develop
it further, leading in many cases to new innovative
products.
Arne Gürtner, Principal Researcher for Arctic
Technology at Statoil, explains his vision of how SAMCoT
links fundamental research to innovation.
“Here, the OARTC 2013 cruise comes to mind, in which
a lot of technology was tested in the field (including)
the 360-degree camera, the simulation model from
Ship Modelling and Simulation Centre AS (SMSC), the
OceanEye, a dual polarized radar, just to mention a
few. Without this field activity, the technology would be
lacking one fundamental part which we recognize as
being very important,” he says.
The great results achieved with SAMCoT’s first
‘Associated Projects’ and the active role of differ-
ent Industry Partners provide the foundation for new
activities. A key example is the possible installation of a
Meso-scale floater around Spitsbergen, currently being
discussed.
Kuiper, who is actively involved in this project, which
started at the end of 2013, explains that “this would
be a floating structure with a diameter of around 10m
in the waterline upon which we will measure ice loads
and floater motions. At the same time videos will record
the ice failure mechanisms. SAMCoT staff in UNIS are
in a unique position to measure ice characteristics
around the Meso-scale floater. Personally, I am helping
SAMCoT very much to make this a reality, since I am a
strong believer that this is an essential step in produc-
ing oil and gas from the Arctic in a safe and sustainable
way. I guarantee that if SAMCoT makes the Meso-scale
floater a reality and successfully measures ice loads,
then there is nobody in the world who can doubt about
the relevance of this SFI and its impact in the industry.”
Long Term focus
SAMCoT is in a privileged position, because the funding
of the Centre through the financial support of its 19
partners and the Research Council of Norway allows for
a long-term focus in its research strategy.
In addition to the core research activities established
in its initial project description, SAMCoT promotes
long-term research and competence-building activi-
ties among its partners through initiatives such as
SAMCoT´s Associate Projects. Close cooperative initia-
tives between companies with a clear R&D focus and
prominent international research groups within the
Centre are created every year.
Value creation is strongly linked to the existence of close
and efficient collaboration between SAMCoT research-
ers and Industry Partners. SAMCoT’s organizational
structure is thought through with the aim of achieving
this collaboration, and in doing so, is keenly focused on
solving the right pieces of the puzzle.
Technology used in 2013 by SAMCoT: RoV used in the sub-
surface mapping of icebergs and sea ice.
Photo: Tatjana Zmushko
Photo: Sveinung Løset