LNG

Jan 25 (LNGJ) - The Russian-owned LNG carrier “SCF La Perouse” is scheduled to deliver a US LNG cargo on January 25 from the Cameron plant in Louisiana to the UK Isle of Grain import terminal, located on the Medway River southeast of London. The 174,100 cubic metres capacity Liberian-flagged vessel, owned by Sovcomflot, lifted the US cargo from the plant near Lake Charles on January 13, according to shipping data.

   The LNG shipment was headed for the UK as the nation’s benchmark National Balancing Point natural gas price rebounded to the equivalent of $30.35 per million British thermal units on colder weather and supply concerns.

July 9 (LNGJ) - Sovcomflot, the Russian shipping line with 31 gas carriers in operation or on order and an overall fleet of 145 vessels, has received confirmation from France’s TotalEnergies of the exercise of its option for two further next-generation 174,000 cubic metres capacity LNG carriers. “The vessels will be chartered for a period of up to seven years, operating within the TotalEnergies global LNG portfolio under the technical management of Sovcomflot,” said SCF.

   “The option was exercised under a contract between TotalEnergies and Sovcomflot signed earlier in 2021 for one sister vessel for delivery in the third quarter of 2023,” added SCF. The two chartered carriers have twin slow-speed X-DF engines, a hull-air lubrication system. They also have two shaft generators with electronic frequency converters and will provide significant fuel savings with the re-liquefaction system minimising Gas Combustion Unit usage.

Sovcomflot said a keel-laying ceremony was held at the Zvezda Shipbuilding yard in Russia’s Far East for a new Arctic liquefied natural gas vessel ordered by the Russian tanker and LNG carrier fleet owner.

Russian fleet owner Sovcomflot and Sakhalin Energy, operator of the LNG plant in the Russian Far East, signed long-term time-charter contracts for two existing LNG-powered tankers, which will be re-fuelled at the liquefaction and export plant.

Gazprom Neft, the Russian oil and gas company and refiner, said it was looking for more opportunities in the LNG maritime fuel market as it awaits the delivery of the first Russian LNG bunkering vessel currently under construction in Singapore.

The Zvezda Shipyard in the Russian Far East is building up its portfolio of LNG-powered vessels with a keel-laying ceremony just held for a chemical tanker and the modernized complex has also started constructing LNG carriers.

Sovcomflot, the Russian shipping line with 31 gas carriers in operation or on order and an overall fleet of 145 vessels, posted a more than 18 percent jump in annual net profits as revenues also increased.

Cosco Shipping Energy Transportation, the biggest Chinese owner and operator of oil and gas vessels and with a growing number of over 40 liquefied natural gas carriers in its fleet, has approved an investment in three LNG carriers for the Russian Arctic LNG II project of Novatek and its partners.

French energy company Total along with South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries and Russian fleet operator Sovcomflot have concluded a deal with options as the build-out continues on the next generation of LNG vessels.

As part of the global fleet expansion, Sovcomflot and Total have concluded a time-charter agreement for up to seven years for a newbuilding LNG carrier with capacity of 174,000 cubic metres to be owned and operated by Sovcomflot, with options for up to two additional vessels.

A Web conference was held to mark the event attended by Igor Tonkovidov, President and Chief Executive Sovcomflot, Thomas Maurisse, Senior Vice President for LNG at Total and Seong-Yong Park, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at HHI.

The new vessel will be the latest in a series of SCF’s new-generation conventional Atlanticmax LNG carriers, with three sister ships already in operation, the “SCF La Perouse”, the “SCF Barents” and the “SCF Timmerman”.

“The vessel will be fitted with an X-DF propulsion system, operated by a slow-speed diesel engine with a direct drive to the propellers, which will enable a substantial reduction in the vessel’s fuel consumption when compared with previous generations of LNG carriers,” the companies explained.

“The new carrier will also be fitted with a hull air lubrication system which, combined with two shaft power generators with frequency-to-current converters, is expected to deliver a further significant decrease in fuel consumption and greenhouse-gas emissions,” they added.

Another environmental feature of this series of new-generation LNG vessels is a partial re-liquefaction system, which allows cargo boil-off gas to be returned to the tanks.

Delivery of the carrier to the charterer is scheduled for the third quarter of 2023.

“We are pleased that SCF Group’s shipbuilding programme will be supplemented with a new gas carrier that meets all the current international standards regarding environmental protection, as well as the Charterer's requirements for energy efficiency, quality and navigational safety,” said Sovcomflot’s Tonkovidov.

“We are grateful to our valued partners at Total for the opportunity to participate in this interesting project which extends further our cooperation in LNG transportation with one of the world’s leading international energy companies,” added Tonkovidov.

“The success in Total’s project tender once again demonstrates SCF’s high standards and capabilities in LNG shipping as well as with other types of energy,” stated the Russian company’s CEO.

He added that the continued development of energy transportation services that serve long-term projects provide a fixed return element to the shipping line’s business model.

“It is in line with the corporate strategy approved by our shareholders and allows us to reduce the negative impact of conventional tanker freight market fluctuations on the Company’s results,” Tonkovidov concluded.

The Russian shipping line is now listed on the Moscow stock exchange after an initial public offering in October 2020. 

Sovcomflot, the Russian shipping line with an overall fleet of 145 vessels, said its LNG carrier, the “Christophe De Margerie”, reached Cape Dezhnev in Russia’s Far East to complete the earliest annual eastbound voyage carrying a cargo along the Northern Sea Route.