Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) and China COSCO Shipping named their first jointly-owned Arctic LNG carrier set to serve the Yamal LNG project, at the Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering shipyard.
The 172,000-cbm ice-breaking vessel, named Vladimir Rusanov, is the first of three newbuilding vessels for MOL and China COSCO Shipping’s fleets in the Novatek-operated Yamal LNG project in the Russian Arctic that recently shipped its first cargo .
The vessel is slated to go into service at the end of March 2018, following delivery at the end of December and ice-breaking sea trials in Arctic waters.
The Vladimir Rusanov and its sister ships will have independent ice-breaking capabilities enabling them to sail in seas with ice up to 2.1m thick. The vessels will transport LNG from the Yamal LNG plant at Sabetta on Russia’s Yamal Peninsula to worldwide LNG markets throughout the year. They will also be able to sail on the Arctic Sea Route to transport LNG to East Asia via the Bering Strait during the summer months.
MOL added that the four conventional LNG carriers that will be deployed for the Yamal LNG project, owned jointly with China COSCO Shipping will be launched from 2019 to 2020.