SCF Group’s NS Yakutia completes her NSR voyage (photo)

On October 6, 2013, Sovcomflot’s dry cargo carrier NS Yakutia completed her voyage along the Northern Sea Route. It was the sixth voyage of the Group’s vessels under the programme on developing high-latitude routes from the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, Sovcomflot press center says.

NS Yakutia loaded with 67,000 tonnes of iron ore concentrate of Eurochem Trading is on her way from port Murmansk to port Lanshan (China). 2,294 miles from Cape Zhelaniya (Novaya Zemlya archipelago) in the Kara Sea to Cape Dezhnev in the Bering Strait were covered in 14 days. Average speed of NS Yakutia at NSR was 9 knots. So it saved over 18 days as compared with the conventional route via the Suez Canal, the statement says. 

NS Yakutia used the new deepwater route to the north from New Siberian Islands, named Tikhonov Route after the company founder. The icebreaking assistance was provided by nuclear icebreakers Yamal, Taimyr and Vaygach of FSUE Atomflot. Technical support of the voyage is provided by SCF technical manager - Novoship OJSC in conjunction with the experts of Sovcomflot headquaters and the state structures. 

The vessel is expected to arrive in the port of destination on October 12.

Vessel’s technical characteristics: built in 2013, deadweight – 74.559 t, ice class – 1B, length – 225 m, width – 32 m, draught – 14 m.

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.