Gazpromneft Marine Bunker, operator of Gazprom Neft’s marine bunkering business, says it supplies fuel for the first bunkering of ice-resistant self-propelled platform North Pole (Severny Polyus).
The platform built by Admiralteiskie Verfi shipyard in Saint-Petersburg will run on ultra-low-sulphur fuel produced by Omsk Refinery.
According to the company’s statement, decarbonisation of shipping in the Arctic and on the Northern Sea Route is among the strategic goals of Gazpromneft Marine Bunker. The company is the largest supplier of environmentally friendly fuels at the ports of Murmansk and Archangelsk. Gazpromneft Marine Bunker offers year-round services on bunkering of Arctic cargo ships and research vessels. In 2021, Gazpromneft Marine Bunker supplied ecological fuel to RV Mikhail Somov in the framework of the Narwhal expedition to the Franz Josef Land archipelago.
Gazprom Neft was among the first companies in Russia to develop and commence production of fuel with improved environmental characteristics. In 2021, Gazpromneft-Marine Bunker sold more than 1 million tonnes of low sulphur fuel (with less than 5% sulphur content).
“The company’s own network of terminals and fleet of bunkering ships lets us ensure supplies of high quality ecological fuel for bunkering of vessels in more than 30 ports of Russia. We pay special attention to Arctic projects: as of today, low-sulphur fuel of Gazprom Neft is used by every second ship involved in cargo transportation along the Northern Sea Route and in scientific research expeditions. That lets enhance ecological safety of seaborne transport and decrease the load on the ecosystem of Russia’s Arctic,” emphasized Aleksey Medvedev, General Director of Gazpromneft Marine Bunker.
The North Pole ice-resistant self-propelled platform is intended for round-the-year comprehensive scientific research in high latitudes of the Arctic Ocean. The all-season scientific-research platform with built-in equipment will be able to conduct geological, acoustic, geophysical and oceanographic observations. The one-of-a-kind North Pole features unique hull strength and endurance.
The shipbuilding contract between Admiralteiskie Verfi shipyard and the Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet) was signed in April 2018. The keel-laying ceremony was held on 10 April 2019. The platform is being built in the framework of the state programme on social and economic development of the Arctic Region of the Russian Federation.
Gazpromneft Marine Bunker, a subsidiary of Gazprom Neft, was established in 2007 to provide year-round supplies of marine fuel and oils for sea and river vessels. Gazpromneft Marine Bunker currently numbers six subsidiary companies and operates in main sea ports of Russia.
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