Gazprom Neft Marine Bunker, a bunkering division of Gazprom Oil on October 31, 2012 signed a purchase agreement for a new 6,800dwt icebreaking bunkering tanker, the Company’s CEO Andrei Vasilyev told PortNews.
The new ship will be named "Gazpromneft Zuid-East" and will be operating under the Russian flag in the ports of Primorsky Territory, namely in Vladivostok, Nakhodka, Vostochny, Kozmino and Poset. The tanker is expected to arrive at the port of Vladivostok on November 5, 2012.
"This is the first new bunkering tanker, which will come to the ports of Primorsky Territory in the post-Soviet era,” Vasilyev said. “The Group’s fleet is in the management of our subsidiary, Gazprom Neft Shipping, which has the necessary licenses and is certified to national and international standards of quality management: ISM and ISO 9001. According to the technical policy adopted at Gazprom Neft Shipping in 2009, the age of the acquired vessels can not exceed 10 years and the maximum age of vessels in service - 25 years. For the last two years, we have expanded our fleet with three tankers, two of which are brand new, purchased from shipyards."
Andrei Vasilyev noted that the entire fleet of Gazprom Neft Shipping meets the requirements of the international MARPOL Convention relating to the protection of the marine environment from pollution from ships and international SOLAS, which increases the level of safety of navigation in the ports of the country. With the acquisition of the Gazprom Neft Zuid-East, the number of the company’s own bunker fleet will reach seven vessels of total deadweight of 27,400 tons.