On March 23, 2015, Daewoo Shipbuilding&Marine Engineering Co., Ltd. (S.Korea) laid down the pilot gas tanker ordered by Sovcomflot Group for transportation of liquefied natural gas under Yamal LNG project, Sovcomflot says in its press release.
The ceremony was attended by the representatives of Sovcomflot, Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RS), Bureau Veritas (BV) etc.
The vessel is supposed to be used for training of crews for Arctic LNG carriers and for practicing of shipping in severe ice conditions of high-latitude Arctic seas.
The vessel will be operated under a long-term time charter agreement between Sovcomflot and Yamal LNG OJSC.
The construction is to be completed in 2016.
Sovcomflot was consulting Yamal LNG OJSC on designing of gas carriers and on optimization of the project’s logistic costs basing on the Group’s long experience of work in Arctic seas and operation of its own gas carriers. Hence the unique design of "Yamalmax" LNG carrier with a unique set of technical specifications not found anywhere else in the world. With its cargo capacity of over 170,000m³, length of 300m and beam of 50m, this tanker will have one of the highest ice classes in the world (ARC7), which will allow it to operate in ice of up to 2.1m thick. The gas carrier’s deadweight is ab. 85,000 t, maximum draught - ab. 12 m, cruising speed – 19.5 knots. The propulsion system includes three azipods with a combined power of 45MW, which is comparable to the power of a Rossiya series atomic icebreaker (55MW). Cargo tanks of reinforced membrane type guarantee safe transportation of gas along the Northern Sea Route which is confirmed by the studies carried by classification societies and shore trials performed by GTT, designer of cargo systems.
Sovcomflot Group (SCF) is Russia’s largest shipping company and a world leader in the maritime transportation of hydrocarbons as well as the servicing and support of offshore exploration and oil & gas production. SCF is the largest operator of ice class LNG gas carriers in the world. The company’s fleet (owned & chartered) specialises in hydrocarbon transportation from regions with challenging icy conditions and includes 157 vessels with a combined deadweight of over 12 million tonnes. A third of these vessels have a high ice class. Sovcomflot supports large-scale offshore energy projects in Russia and overseas, including: Sakhalin-I, Sakhalin-II, Varandey, Prirazlomnoye, Tangguh, and Peregrino. The company is registered in Saint-Petersburg and has representative offices in Moscow, Novorossiysk, Murmansk, Vladivostok, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, London, Limassol, Madrid, Singapore and Dubai.
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Steel cutting ceremony held for Sovcomflot’s pilot gas carrier under Yamal LNG project (photo) >>>>