On November 7, 2013, the namegiving ceremony was held for Russia’s first Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC). The 320,000-dwt vessel was built by Bohai Shipbuilding Heavy Industry (Huludao, China). It is the first vessels in the series ordered by Sovcomflot OJSC for international transportation of large batches of crude. According to Sovcomflot press center, at present, it is not possible to build vessels of this class in Russia.
SCF is a world leader in the product carrier segment, as well as in the Aframax and Suezmax oil tanker segments. In line with the SCF development strategy, the construction of the two new tankers – Svet and SCF Shanghai – will allow the company to break into a new large tonnage segment employing VLCC tankers (deadweight over 300,000 tonnes).
The vessel fully complies with domestic and international safety requirements of Det Norske Veritas. It can be operated without any restrictions for the navigation area.
Svet will be deployed for crude oil shipping operations under long-term time charter agreements with PetroChina International (a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation). In December, 2011, the companies signed agreements providing for the transportation of oil from countries in the Middle East, West Africa and Venezuela to China using the SCF tanker fleet.
Svet is due to enter into active service in the second half of November 2013. OAO Novoship (part of SCF Group) will take charge of the tankers’ technical management and oversee their construction.
The new VLCC vessel has been named in honour of Russia’s first oil tanker Svet (deadweight: 1,700 tonnes). She was built in 1885 and was ordered by the Nobel Brothers company for the export shipping of oil and kerosene across the Black Sea from Baku. The tanker was 89.5m long and 11.6m wide, her sailing rig was 240m² and she travelled at a maximum speed of 7.5 knots. The crew of the first Black Sea tanker consisted of 50 sailors.
The tanker’s technical parameters: length – 332 m, width – 60 m, depth – 30.05 m, deadweight – 320,000 t, draught – 22.6 m, operational speed – 16 knots.
New contracts for the construction of VLCC class tankers were signed on 22 November, 2010, in Saint-Petersburg by SCF Group and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC). This marks the next stage in the implementation of their long-term strategic partnership agreement. This document specifically includes provision for a substantial expansion in the volume of hydrocarbons transported by SCF Group vessels for the Chinese company.
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.