Cargo operations lasted for 13 hours 40 minutes. Having loaded a cargo of 162,505 cubic metres of LNG, the vessel set a course towards Dabhol, India.
On her way to Sabetta, the ship successfully crossed the Eastern segment of the Arctic without icebreaker support, from the Bering Strait to the port of loading, in 10 days. In the NSR, Marshal Vasilevskiy navigated in a slow-steam mode with an average speed of 10 knots. The air temperature on the NSR was -3 to +5 degrees C, with persistent fog and snow squalls observed at times.
The ship’s Master, Sergey Larchenko said: "Our first passage along the Northern Sea Route passed safely under favorable weather conditions. Most of the time we navigated in clear water, in the East Siberian Sea there was small-sized one-year ice of 1-3 points, mainly 40-70 cm thick. There were separate ice floes up to 150 cm thick, which did not hinder navigation. The port call at Sabetta and cargo operations were undertaken in the normal way. Navigating in ice conditions, of course, would have been more complicated. Having left Sabetta, we proceeded to India along the Northern Sea Route."
SCF has accumulated many years of experience and expertise of LNG operations, especially within the harsh climatic conditions, which is something in high demand with the energy majors. Since 2019, Sovcomflot has been the technical manager of FSRU Marshal Vasilevskiy (shipowner – Gazpromflot).
The Master of Marshal Vasilevskiy, Sergey Larchenko, has 17 years of experience including aboard LNG and LPG carriers. For the NSR navigation, the watch was reinforced with an Ice Advisor, Captain Stanislav Chichin, who has many years of work experience gained aboard the Arctic shuttle tankers serving the Varandey and Prirazlomnoye projects.
Length – 294.7 metres
Width – 46.4 metres
Cargo capacity – 174,000 cubic metres
Speed max. – 19.5 knots
Ice class – Arc4
PAO Sovcomflot (MOEX:FLOT) is one of the world's leading energy shipping companies, specialising in the transportation of crude oil, petroleum products, and liquefied gas, as well as the servicing of offshore oil and gas production. As of the date of this release, the Group’s fleet comprises 136 vessels with a total deadweight of over 11.7 million tonnes, including vessels owned through joint ventures. About 80 vessels have an ice class.
SCF is involved in servicing large oil and gas projects in Russia and around the world: Sakhalin-1; Sakhalin-2; Varandey; Prirazlomnoye; Novy Port; Yamal LNG, and Tangguh (Indonesia). The Group is headquartered in St. Petersburg, with offices in Moscow, Novorossiysk, Murmansk, Vladivostok, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, London, Limassol, and Dubai.