Bolshoy Kamen, Russia based Shipbuilding Complex Zvezda (Zvezda Shipyard, part of United Shipbuilding Corporation) today held an official keel laying and authentication ceremony for second in a series of ten Aframax tankers, the shipbuilding enterprise said.
The ceremony took place at Zdezda Shipyard’s outdoor outfitting dock and was attended by representatives of Customer Rosnefteflot JSC and the Far Eastern branch of RS.
Zvezda Shipyard director Sergey Tseluiko and Chief Engineer of Rosnefteflot Alexander Kovalenko attached a brass plaque to the keel block and signed the keel-laying certificate, which marked the start of new ship construction.
The 114000dwt Aframax tankers were ordered by Rosnefteflot for the transportation of crude oil and oil products. These Aframax tankers will be the first ships of this type to be built in the Russian Federation.
Lead tanker of the Aframax series was laid down in September 2018 in the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin. The vessel launching is scheduled for 2020.
Zvezda Shipbuilding Complex located in Bolshoy Kamen, Primorsky Region, is being created on the base of Zvezda Far-Eastern Plant by a consortium of Rosneftegaz, Rosneft and Gazprombank. The shipbuilding complex project includes the construction of facilities that have already been commissioned: a covered shipbuilding hall, a painting shop, and an outdoor heavy outfitting dock. Besides, the Zvezda Shipyard project second phase includes the construction of a heavy dry dock, full-cycle production shops, and halls for construction of offshore structures. The shipbuilding company’s product range will comprise vessels up to 350,000dwt, ice-class vessels, specialized vessels and other marine equipment of various complexity, parameters and purpose, including the equipment that was not manufactured in Russia before. As of today, the Zvezda order book includes 38 vessels.