LNG carrier Pskov completes first open water STS transfer for Yamal LNG
On 24 November 2018, the LNG carrier Pskov successfully completed the first LNG ship-to-ship transfer operation for the Yamal LNG Project. Pskov loaded some 170,000 cubic meters of liquefied gas, which was delivered from the Port of Sabetta (Yamal Peninsula) to the transshipment point by one of the Arctic LNG carriers chartered by Yamal LNG.
The cargo transshipment was carried out at the safe anchorage off the port of Honningsvåg, Norway. Upon completion of the transshipment, Pskov proceeded toward her planned port of discharge.
A series of 15 ice-breaking Arc7-ice class LNG carriers was ordered to service the Yamal LNG project, to provide year-round transportation of LNG in the challenging ice conditions of the Kara Sea. These unique vessels have delivered LNG directly to European and APAC ports. In December 2017, the first LNG cargo produced by Yamal LNG at Sabetta was transported by the pilot vessel of the series, Christophe de Margerie, operated by Sovcomflot.
The successful STS transfer to Pskov signals a new phase for the development of the logistics supporting Yamal LNG, the international LNG production and delivery project successfully implemented in Russia. STS transfers enable shorter round voyages for Arc7-ice class Arctic LNG carriers of the Christophe de Margerie series, which increases the efficiency of their operation and consequently of the project in general.
Two conventional LNG carriers operated by SCF group, Pskov and SCF Melampus, are expected to be engaged in STS operations for Yamal LNG.
Earlier in August 2018, Pskov successfully delivered the first LNG cargo produced at the second Yamal LNG train from Sabetta.
Sovcomflot (SCF Group) is one of the world's leading energy shipping companies, specialising in the transportation of crude oil, petroleum products, and liquefied gas, as well as the servicing of offshore oil and gas exploration and production. The company’s fleet includes 146 vessels with a total deadweight of 12.7 million tonnes. 80 vessels have an ice class.
Sovcomflot is involved in servicing large oil and gas projects in Russia and around the world: Sakhalin-1; Sakhalin-2; Varandey; Prirazlomnoye; Novy Port; Yamal LNG, and Tangguh (Indonesia). The company is headquartered in Saint Petersburg, with offices in Moscow, Novorossiysk, Murmansk, Vladivostok, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, London, Limassol, and Dubai.
At present, SCF has 13 gas carriers in operation. The Group became an independent owner and operator of gas carriers in 2006, the first Russian company to successfully establish itself in this shipping segment. Key charterers of SCF’s gas fleet include: Gazprom; Sakhalin Energy; Shell; Yamal LNG; Sibur, and Tangguh LNG. Over 2017, SCF’s gas tanker fleet increased its revenues by 17.4 per cent compared with 2016, and grew its share of the Group’s total revenue base to 15.6 per cent from 12.3 per cent in the prior year.
