Korean shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., Ltd. (S.Korea) has laid the keel for the first gas tanker ordered by Russian Sovcomflot Group for transportation of liquefied natural gas (LNG) under Yamal LNG project.
The vessel is intended to be used for training crews for Arctic LNG carriers and for practicing navigation in severe ice conditions in the Arctic seas.
The vessel will be operated under a long-term time charter agreement between Sovcomflot and Yamal LNG OJSC.
The ship will feature a cargo capacity of 600 m3, a length of 300 m and a width of 50 m. It will have ice class Arc7 (classification RS), which will enable the vessel to sail safely through ice-covered Northern Sea Route.
The construction is to be completed in 2016.
The Yamal LNG project in Russia’s Arctic includes the construction of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant with capacity of 16.5 million tons of LNG annually based on the resource of the South Tambeyskoye field. Yamal LNG is owned by NOVATEK (60%), TOTAL (20%) and CNPC (20%).
The project is scheduled to start producing gas in 2016, reaching an estimated supply of 16.5 million tonnes by 2018.
World Maritime News Staff; Images: SCF