This is the fifth vessel in a series of 15 LNG carriers ordered to Zvezda under Arctic LNG 2 project
Shipbuilding Complex Zvezda (Bolshoy Kamen, Primorsky Territory) says it has started steel-cutting for the icebreaking LNG tanker of ARC 7 class.
The key sponsor of the project and the freight charterer is NOVATEK. The shipbuilding contract was signed between SC Zvezda and VEB.RF Group in December 2019. The delivery is scheduled for the end of 2023.
Zvezda is the first Russian shipyard to implement projects on construction of such ships. Icebreaking LNG tankers of ice-class Arc7 are designed to transport liquefied natural gas and can perform in severe climate conditions. They can break through ice of up to 2.1 meters thick. The length of the vessel is 300 m, width 48.8 m, deadweight – 81,000 t. The capacity of the gas carrier’s power plant is 45 MW.
The tanker will be fitted with the Mark III membrane containment system designed by Gaztransport & Technigaz (GTT). In July 2020, Zvezda signed a technical assistance and licensing agreement with the French engineering company Gaztransport & Technigaz, which specialises in developing and licensing the construction of cryogenic membrane systems for LNG transportation and storage, obtained an international licence and became the only Russian shipyard that can build LNG carriers with the Mark 3 membrane storage system.
The ship will be also equipped with three unique electric steerable thrusters. To design and manufacture electric steerable thrusters for ice class ships, Sapphire Applied Engineering and Training Centre LLC was established in Saint-Petersburg as a joint venture of General Electric and Rosneft Oil Company as well as Sapphire plant in Bolshoy Kamen.
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