Vladimir Rusanov, an icebreaking LNG carrier, has completed the Northern Sea Route (NSR) passage via the eastern direction and delivered a cargo of LNG produced by the Yamal LNG project to China.
The 168,560 cbm vessel shipped LNG from the Russian port of Sabetta to the Chinese port of Tianjin, Russian natural gas producer Novatek said.
As informed, the 2018-built Vladimir Rusanov transited the ice-covered part of the route in only six days, setting a new record for independent passage via the NSR without icebreaking support with cargo onboard.
The total voyage time from Sabetta to the destination port was completed in a record sixteen days, which is less than half the time required to transport a cargo of LNG along the traditional westbound route via the Suez Canal and the Strait of Malacca.
“For the second year in a row, our Arc7 ice-class LNG tankers were once again the first ships to open the summer navigation period via the Northern Sea Route,” Lev Feodosyev, First Deputy Chairman of the Management Board at Novatek, commented.
“This voyage set a number of records for the passage time of the ice part of the NSR, and for the total voyage time to China from the Russian Arctic region. These achievements were made possible due to the accumulated ice navigation experience and the outstanding ice performance characteristics of LNG tanker fleet designed specifically for our Yamal LNG project.”
Built at Korean Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Shipbuilding (DSME) shipyard, Vladimir Rusanov is jointly owned by Japanese Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) and China COSCO Shipping Corporation Limited. Together with its sister vessels Vladimir Vize and Nikolay Urvantsev , Vladimir Rusanov has been contracted to transport LNG for the Yamal LNG Project.