Russia’s Sovcomflot (SCF Group) has signed a deal with compatriot Rosneft to provide technical supervision of a series of the latter’s new LNG-fuelled Aframax tankers.
This deal is part of a package of agreements , signed in 2017, involving the construction of LNG-fuelled Aframax tankers for Rosneft in partnership with Zvezda shipbuilding complex in Primorsky region, and their subsequent long-term chartering.
The tankers will have a deadweight of 114,000 tonnes and a 1A ice class, which means they would be able to operate all year round in areas with difficult ice conditions.
This series of tankers represents a new generation of vessels, which will use LNG as their primary fuel, enabling environmental emissions to be reduced significantly, Sovcomflot said in its statement.
The technical specification of the tankers reflects international restrictions on the emission of sulphur oxides, nitrogen oxides and greenhouse gases, which will take effect from 2020 and will apply, amongst other things, to the Baltic and North Sea areas, the company said.
The vessels will be built at South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries and are expected to begin operations in 2021.
Evgeny Ambrosov, Senior Executive Vice President of Sovcomflot, said in the statement that the company welcomes the further expansion of cooperation with Rosneft, the largest exporter of Russian oil.
“We hope that in the future the construction of such new generation large-capacity tankers, with LNG-fuelled engines, in Russia will encourage the development of the necessary infrastructure, which enables vessels to bunker with LNG at ports in Russia,” he said.