Sovcomflot is working towards supply of MR ships running on LNG

Sovcomflot is working towards supply of MR ships powered by LNG as the main fuel with a plan to build a series of such ships, Sergey Frank, President & CEO of PAO Sovcomflot, told journalists at the Transport of Russia Forum.

“We are holding negotiations in other segments regarding other types of ships. LNG-powered fleet will include not only Aframax tankers but also Medium Range ships (45,000-52,000 DWT) which will apply the same technology – liquefied natural gas as the main fuel. We are defining specifications of vessels now since they should meet a long-term vision of a charterer. It is too early to speak about possible number of such ships”, said Sergey Frank.

Sergey Frank also said that can be a series of vessels. He emphasized that state support can be needed by Russian shipbuilders to manufacture competitive products in this segment.

According to Sergey Frank, the industry features a severe shortage of infrastructure for bunkering of vessels with LNG.

“It is possible that by the end of 2020 – beginning of 2021 a sound network of bunkering bases will appear in the Baltic Sea, partially in the North Sea, widely in the Mediterranean and at the port of Singapore. Domestic companies still have a reserve in this respect. We draw attention of oil and gas companies to the vastness of this market. Monetization of via LNG bunkering is usually more efficient as compared with gas monetization in energy segment”, emphasized Sergey Frank.

LNG bunkering would be interesting for Sovcomflot in some ports including Sakhalin ports, Murmansk and Sabetta, he added.