On November 25, 2013, STX Offshore & Shipbuilding Co.Ltd. laid the keel of the second ice class gas carrier ordered by Sovcomflot (SCF OJSC) under long-term agreement with Shell, Sovcomflot press center announced.
The first vessel of the series – SCF Melampus – was floated out on November 5, 2013.
The delivery of SCF Melampus is scheduled for late 2014, SCF Mitre – for early 2015.
The state-of-the-art Ice2 (1C) Atlanticmax class gas carriers have a cargo capacity of approximately 170,000 m³ and are equipped with the latest hardware for work in extremely low temperatures. These vessels are designed for the year-round transportation of gas from all existing LNG terminals, including Sakhalin-II – Russia’s first LNG project.
At present, the SCF fleet has 10 LPG and LNG carriers which are in operation on both Russian and international projects (Sakhalin-II, Tangguh, Escobar). An additional four gas carriers are being built as part of a long-term time charter agreement with the world’s largest oil & gas companies – Shell and Gazprom.
Gas shipping by sea is one of the priorities of SCF strategy through 2018.
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.