In order to resist the extreme temperatures of the bitter Arctic winter, an experimental Resinex elastic beacon, purposely designed, was installed by our company in July 2008 to a 11-metre depth three miles off the port of Vastervik, some 200 kilometres south of Stockholm in Sweden. The beacon in question is a light elastic beacon, without a tower, which supports a marine lantern with a focal plane of six metres, visible for three miles, and four yellow reflector panels. The anchorage in guaranteed by a steel plate (made by Resinex) firmly fixed to the rocky sea bed. The lantern has the task to signal hazardous rock outbreaks at the mouth of the port of Vastervik which could constitute a danger for craft entering or leaving the port.
In answer to a specific client request, the Swedish Maritime Administration, Resinex projected a beacon to meet such a requirement which would be able to withstand the extreme gelid winter sea climate where ice-packs of a two meter depth form. After forming, these masses of ice are at the mercy of the marine currents and so move, taking with them all that has been entrapped within their midst. The Swedish Maritime Administration has lost a number of buoys and lanterns in the area which have been ripped from their moorings and damaged in their structure. In order to resolve this problem, the Resinex Technical Division designed and created a innovative beacon; the lower part of the said beacon is an extremely strong tubular structure with a float which remains completely underwater. It is connected to a upper steel pole (where the lantern is positioned) by a special flange which can withstand normal marine conditions (wind, wave, current etc…) but will break away when subjected to the force of the ice. The upper part is fastened to the lower part by a steel cable which is inside the beacon and during spring permits the recovery of the detached pole. With this particular and innovative application the lower part of the beacon which is anchored, including the float, remains undamaged, while at the same time the upper part can be easily reassembled by replacing only six bolts.
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