Sovcomflot’s Aleksey Chirikov to be registered with RMRS under Russian flag (photo)
Sovcomflot OJSC is going to register the Aleksey Chirikov with the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping and operate it under the flag of the Russian Federation (port of registration – St. Petersburg), Sovcomflot says in its press release.
The vessel is built by Arctech Helsinki Shipyard Oy (Helsinki, Finland) to the order of Sovcomflot OJSC for operation within the framework of Sakhalin-1 project. It is the second icebreaking supply vessel of the state-of-the-art series Vitus Bering built by this shipyard (joint venture of OSK OJSC and STX Finland). The lead vessel of the series was put into operation in January 2013. It has already commenced operation at Sakhalin under contract with Exxon Neftegas Ltd, operator of Sakhalin-1 project.
The Aleksey Chirikov will join the Vitus Bering to ensure smooth operation of Arkutun-Dagi oil and gas production platforms in the Sea of Okhotsk
“This vessel, bearing the name Aleksey Chirikov, will operate in the Far Eastern seas in a region that has been gaining increasing economic importance for Russia over the last several years. The ongoing development of projects on the continental shelf in the Far East with the active involvement of Russian companies will allow Russia to further strengthen its positions in the rapidly expanding Asia-Pacific region. We welcome the development of mutually beneficial cooperation with Exxon Neftegas Ltd. And we are grateful to our partners for the confidence and the opportunity to participate in this project. The construction of vessels like Aleksey Chirikov is fully in line with the Sovcomflot strategy to expand company participation in industrial projects on Russia’s continental shelf. Aleksey Chirikov and Vitus Bering bring together the very latest innovations in shipbuilding science and technology and are in high demand from both Russian and international oil and gas companies and we hope for further construction of the series by the companies of the national shipbuilding complex”, comments Sergey Frank, Director General of Sovcomflot.
According to Sovcomflot press release, the vessels of the series are among the best ships of this class in the world. The hull is designed specially for shipping in severe ice conditions. The design complies with all the regulations, standards and requirements of international conventions and Russian Maritime Register of Shipping.
The newly built vessel is named after Captain-Commander Aleksey Chirikov, associate of the great Russian navigator and discoverer Vitus Bering in the First and the Second Kamchatka expeditions.
The vessel’s major characteristics: deadweight – 3,950 tonnes, length max. – 99.2 m, width – 21.7 m, draught max. – 7.9 m, crew – 22 persons, joint class of RS and Lloyd Register. RS class: KM (*) Icebreaker6 [1] AUT1 EPP special purpose ship.
The construction of the series of state-of-the-art supply vessels for Sovcomflot is a successful example of international cooperation. Vitus Bering series is a joint project of Russian and Finnish shipbuilders. Some 90% of the structures were manufactured by Vyborg Shipyard (part of the United Shipbuilding Corporation).
Sovcomflot Group is Russia’s largest shipping company and one of the world’s leading shipping companies specializing in the maritime hydrocarbons transportation and supporting continental shelf exploration and oil & gas production. The SCF fleet includes 156 vessels with a combined deadweight of around 12 million tonnes. One third of them have a high ice class. The Group specialises in hydrocarbon transportation from regions with challenging ice conditions. Sovcomflot supports large-scale offshore energy projects in Russia and the rest of the world, including: Sakhalin-I, Sakhalin-II, Varandey, Prirazlomnoye, Tangguh, Escobar, and Peregrino.
The company is registered in Saint-Petersburg and has representative offices in Moscow, Novorossiysk, Murmansk, Vladivostok, London, Limassol, Madrid, Singapore and Dubai.
Arctech Helsinki Shipyard Oy specializes in arctic shipbuilding technology, e.g. building icebreakers and other arctic offshore and special vessels. Arctech is a joint-venture, which is 50/50 owned by STX Finland Oy and Russian United Shipbuilding Corporation. The joint venture agreement was signed in December 2010. Arctech is located in Helsinki and has approximately 400 empolyees.
Exxon Neftegas Limited is a subsidiary of ExxonMobil, an American oil and gas corporation. ENL is the operator of Sakhalin-I Consortium which is involved in exploration and production of oil and gas on Sakhalin Island (Russia) and offshore, in Chayvo, Odoptu and Arkutun-Dagi fields located in the Sea of Okhotsk.
United Shipbuilding Corporation (OSK OJSC) is the largest shipbuilding company in Russia. It was set up in 2007 with 100% federal ownership. OSK consists of 9 planning and design offices and 39 shipbuilding and ship-repair yards. OSK’s largest shipbuilding assets include: PSZ Yantar (Kaliningrad), Admiralteyskie Verfi (Saint-Petersburg), PO Sevmash (Severodvinsk), Vyborg Shipyard and DVZ Zvezda (Vladivostok). The company’s largest international projects include: the construction of the Zvezda-DSME shipyard as part of a joint venture with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (Republic of Korea) and the construction of the Vostok-Ruffles shipyard as part of a joint venture with Yantai Ruffles (Singapore). Currently, OSK consolidates about 70% of the domestic shipbuilding complex. The Russian market is the main focus of the state corporation though it also exports its products to 20 countries worldwide.
Vyborg Shipyard OJSC is one of the largest shipbuilding companies of the North-Western Region of Russia with over 60-years’ experience in shipbuilding. Vyborg Shipyard is a member of the United Shipbuilding Corporation. Since the Shipyard was founded (1948) there have been built more than 200 different vessels with deadweight of up to 12,000 tonnes and total displacement exceeding 1,300,000 tonnes. Today the Shipyard specializes in building drilling rigs for offshore deposits development, vessels of small and medium tonnage as well as ship repair.
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