Zvezda Shipbuilding Complex and Sovkomflot PJSC have signed a contract to make a pilot gas carrier vessel for the Arctic LNG 2 project, Rosneft says in a press release. The contract states that the vessel shall be delivered in Q1 2023.
Zvezda Shipbuilding Complex has unique equipment for Russian shipyards, as well as advanced world-class technology, which provides for the implementation of such projects. Prior to the contract conclusion, Zvezda carried out a vast amount of work to be certified. It successfully passed an audit by Gaztransport & Technigaz (GTT), Novatek PJSC, and ship-owners, and its capacity for construction of liquefied gas membrane storage systems was approved. Approximately 100 employees of Zvezda Shipyard underwent training in South Korea and France and learned to make modular vessels.
The pilot gas carrier vessel for Arctic LNG 2 will meet the design requirements for Christophe de Margerie vessels ordered for Novatek’s project in South Korea in 2013 in order to provide support to Yamal LNG and ensure year-round transportation of LNG in harsh ice conditions of the Kara Sea and the Gulf of Ob.
The tanker built at Zvezda Shipyard will comply with all the requirements of the legislation of the Russian Federation, thus ensuring its recognition as a Russian vessel.
For the first time in history, construction of a vessel of this class will be carried out at a Russian shipyard. It should be noted that the USSR had not been making such vessels, and for many years they had been ordered abroad.
The vessel’s design allows it ramming ice up to 2.1 m thick. Power package capacity of the gas carrier is 45 MW, which is comparable to the power of a nuclear-power icebreaker.
These tankers are distinguished by increased environmental safety; in particular, they are mainly powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Zvezda Shipyard is being established at the Far Eastern Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Centre (FESRC) by a consortium led by Rosneft upon instructions of the President of Russia.
The shipyard projects comprise launched and operating objects, such as the hull production facility, painting cabinets, and open heavy outfitting berth, as well as second-train objects under construction, such as the dry dock, full-cycle production shops, and shops for offshore marine equipment.
Zvezda Shipyard is designed for construction of large-capacity vessels, ice-class vessels with a displacement of up to 350,000 tonnes, special-purpose vessels, and other marine equipment.