Russia Delivers First Domestically-Built Arc7 LNG Carrier
Russia’s Sovcomflot and Zvezda shipyard heralded the delivery of its first LNG carrier, the Alexey Kosygin. They are saying it is the first of a new series of domestically-built LNG carriers that will be able to operate year-round on the Northern Sea Route and help to meet the goal of tripling LNG exports.
The vessel with a capacity of 172,600 cbm was officially commissioned and handed over to Sovcomflot on December 24. It is years behind schedule due to sanctions that prohibited the import of key components. Reports said the ship was expected in 2023. Zvezda worked with foreign shipbuilders who built components of the vessels assembled in Russia.
"Today is a historic event for the entire domestic shipping and shipbuilding industry – we are commissioning the first gas carrier built in Russia,” said Igor Tonkovidov, CEO of PAO Sovcomflot. “Never before has our country built such complex vessels, both in engineering and technology.”
Zvezda, which was started by Russian President Vladimir Putin as the country’s first large-tonnage shipyard, highlights that the production of the gas carrier required a large amount of research and development. Sovcomflot says the design benefited from the experience operating the Christophe de Margerie series in the challenging Arctic climate.
Zvezda complex - note the second LNG carrier outfitting on the dock (Zvezda)
The new vessel is 300 meters (984 feet) and is designed to operate without restriction on ice. It will have a crew of 29. They say it can handle ice up to 2 meters (6.5 feet) in thickness. It uses LNG for its propulsion, and the system has a capacity of 45 MW with three full-turn rudder propellers. The propulsion plant was also domestically built at the Saphir plant within the Zvezda complex.
Delivery on the vessel comes as Russia has struggled to maintain LNG shipments due to an early onset this year of heavy ice. Russian-flagged LNG carrier Buran reportedly was forced to turn back after making several attempts to reach the LNH terminal.
Plans call for the new ship to operate under a long-term charter to Novatek, which operates the Arctic LNG 2 plant. The company has said it intends to build 15 Arc7 ice-class tankers, and it will have contracted a total of 21 LNG tankers.
Sovcomflot reports that it expects to receive two more LNG tankers from Zvezda next year. The shipbuilder highlighted that it has already delivered seven vessels between 2020 and 2025, including five Aframax oil tankers, as the yard complex continues to expand its capacity.
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