LNG

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.

Wärtsilä, the Finland-based equipment provider for maritime and energy markets, said it would supply the Inert Gas Generator systems, as well as navigation system technology for six newbuild LNG carriers under construction to serve the Arctic LNG II export project in northern Siberia.

The orders were placed with Wärtsilä by the South Korean shipyard, Daewoo Shipbuilding Marine Engineering (DSME).

There are options for an additional two or possibly four vessels.

One division of the Finnish company, Wärtsilä Gas Solutions, will deliver the Inert Gas Systems used for safe operations on LNG and other gas vessels as well as oil tankers.

Another part of the DSME contract is with the Wärtsilä Voyage division to provide display system and workstations for the Wärtsilä Navi-Sailor Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS), Navi-Radar, the Navi-Conning navigation information display system, a Bridge Alert Management System (BAMS) and the Wärtsilä Navi-Planner for advanced route planning.

The scope also includes IRIDIUM satellite communication systems.

“These vessels will operate in severe climatic conditions, and it is essential that all onboard systems are capable of safe and reliable performance under all conditions,” said Jaechul Ha, an executive at Wärtsilä Gas Solutions.

“We have worked closely with both DSME and Sovcomflot (SCF) in the past, and are pleased to continue these relationships,” added Ha.

The company said that all the navigational systems to be installed on the Russian-flagged carriers come integration-ready with Wärtsilä Voyage’s flagship Fleet Operations Solution.

The 172,500 cubic metres capacity vessels will have a high ice-class rating for year-round operations along the challenging Northern Sea Route, delivering cargoes eastwards to Asia from the liquefaction plant in northern Siberia.

Wärtsilä said the delivery of its equipment to the South Korean yard was scheduled to begin in September 2021.

The company’s Wärtsilä Marine Power division had earlier in 2021 announced an order for 46 dual-fuel engines for the same six LNG carriers being built for Arctic LNG.

Russia has confirmed that Pakistan had been offered liquefied natural gas supplies as Russian natural gas companies broaden their delivery capability with projects such as Novatek’s Arctic LNG expansion.

Gazprom Neft, the refining and logistics arm of Russian natural gas giant Gazprom, said the installation of tanks and other cryogenic equipment had now been completed on the nation’s first LNG bunkering vessel, scheduled to begin operations in 2021.

“This high-tech vessel will be providing environmentally-friendly NGV-fuel transportation and bunkering services for clients at major ports throughout the Baltic Sea area, including St Petersburg, Ust-Luga, Primorsk and elsewhere,” said the company.

Gazprom Neft’s bunkering vessel, which is currently being constructed at the Keppel Offshore and Marine shipyard in Singapore, will be the first ship in the Russian Federation able to undertake ship-to-ship LNG fuelling operations.

The Russian project is benefiting from Keppel’s strong track record in ice-class vessel construction and experience in handling cryogenic equipment. Keppel has so far delivered 11 ice-class vessels.

Gazprom Neft will begin LNG bunkering for likely first customers Rosmorport, the Russian state operator of ferries and service vessels, as well as energy shipping fleet and owner Sovcomflot for its 11 LNG-fuelled Aframax crude tankers on order.

The Arc4 ice-class Gazprom Neft vessel is 100 metres in length, and 19 metres wide and with 5,800 cubic metres of capacity. The average time for refuelling client vessels is likely to be around eight hours.

Gazprom Neft said construction work has already involved the installation of two cargo tanks, each with a capacity of 2,900 cubic metres and manufactured using a nickel-iron-based alloy.

It added that special reinforcing props attached to the hull structure in the cargo holds had to be used to install the tanks.

The LNG bunkering vessel has also been fitted with pumps and piping for loading and discharging LNG, and a fuel-tank cooling system.

In line with planned scheduling, the company said the next stage in building the LNG bunkering vessel was the installation of the cargo deck, while pipe-fitting and the installation of cargo-handling equipment is next on the agenda.

“The best international technologies, both in shipbuilding and in LNG storage and transportation, are being used on Russia’s first LNG bunkering project,” said Alexei Medvedev, Director General of Gazprom Neft-Marine Bunkering.

“Seventy percent of key construction works are now complete. The ship’s hull has been assembled, and energy facilities have been installed, as have fuel tanks,” added Medvedev. 

Gaztransport and Technigaz, the French designer of liquefied natural gas maritime and onshore storage systems, has received a second order from the Zvezda Shipyard in the Russian Far East for the tank designs of 10 ARC7 ice-breaking LNG carriers.

GTT said each vessel would offer a capacity of 172,600 cubic metres capacity and be fitted with the Mark III membrane containment system.

GTT technologies have been adapted for heavy environmental conditions, allowing LNC carriers to operate and navigate safely in ice-covered waters.

“These ARC7 vessels will contribute to the projects of the Russian LNG producer Novatek,” said GTT.

The 10 carriers are scheduled to be delivered between the second half of 2024 and the end of 2025.

“We are very pleased to work with Zvezda and look forward to continuing this partnership through this second order for 10 ARC7 ice-breaking LNG carriers,” said Philippe Berterottière, Chairman and Chief Executive of GTT.

The Zvezda complex is located at Bolshoi Kamen on the coast of the Sea of Japan and about 12 miles northeast of the city of Vladivostok.

Zvezda signed a technical assistance and license agreement with GTT in June 2020.

The new generation of carriers built by Zvezda will serve the new plant of Russian natural gas company Novatek and partners from France, China and Japan.

GTT said these unique LNG carriers are intended to transport cargoes from the project being developed on the Gydan Peninsula in northern Siberia.

Zvezda is owned by a consortium of Russian energy companies, including Rosneftegaz, Rosneft and the financial affiliate of Gazprom, Gazprombank.

The Russian shipbuilder obtained its GTT licence after a qualification process that began in September 2017, including the construction of a Mark III technology mock-up.

The shipyard plans to specialise in the construction of large-capacity vessels, ice-class ships, special vessels and marine equipment or offshore platforms.

Construction of LNG carriers is one of the priority directions of the production programme at the shipyard.

The first vessel for Arctic LNG II will be constructed at the Zvezda shipyard for Russian shipping line Sovcomflot and be financed by the Russian VEB Group, a development bank.
The first carrier and its sister ships will be capable of traversing the Northern Sea Route.

The newbuilds will be designed for year-round operations in the ice conditions of the Kara Sea and the Gulf of Ob and will be able to sail independently through ice over two metres thick.

Sovcomflot LNG carriers currently deliver cargoes for Yamal plant of Russian natural gas company Novatek and for Gazprom’s Sakhalin plant in the Russian Far East.

Sovcomflot, the Russian shipping line with 31 gas carriers in operation or on order in an overall fleet of almost 150 vessels, has taken delivery of its latest LNG carrier “SCF Barents”, chartered to Royal Dutch Shell and named after the 16th-century Dutch Arctic explorer Willem Barents.

The ship with capacity of 174,000 cubic metres was handed over at the Hyundai Heavy Industries shipyard in South Korea.

After the vessel’s naming ceremony, it embarked on its maiden voyage under a long-term time charter agreement with one of Shell’s subsidiaries.

Sovcomflot President and Chief Executive Igor Tonkovidov, attended the ceremony along with Cederic Cremers, Chairman of the Shell subsidiary in Russia.

Also representatives at the event were the executives of the three European banks which provided the shipping finance, ING Bank of the Netherlands, France’s Crédit Agricole and KfW IPEX-Bank GmbH of Germany.

Shell executive Catherine Hall, the General Manager of Global Operations and Commercial Services at Shell Trading & Supply was the vessel’s sponsor at the ceremony.

“SCF Group and Shell have enjoyed a long-standing partnership, which both parties seek to consistently expand and reinforce,” said CEO Tonkovidov of Sovcomflot, also known as SCF Group.

“For many years, Shell has been amongst the largest charterers of SCF’s vessels,” he added.

“The delivery of ‘SCF Barents’ is important as growing our fleet of gas carriers is a strategic priority for SCF,” stated Tonkovidov.

“With the delivery, we now have 15 gas carriers in operation, with another 16 under construction. Thus, two-thirds of all vessels currently ordered by SCF are destined to expand our gas fleet,” he explained.

The “SCF Barents” is the second vessel in a series of three with 174,000 cubic metres capacity in the new-generation Atlanticmax series ordered by SCF in 2018.

The first vessel of the series, “SCF La Perouse”, was delivered in February 2020.

“All vessels in the series are designed to maximise their energy efficiency and meet the most stringent environmental standards, with their fuel consumption substantially reduced compared to the preceding generation of vessels,” said SCF.

“Each LNG carrier is equipped with an advanced Mark III Flex cargo containment system, slow-speed dual-fuel X-DF engine, and a system that reduces nitrogen-oxide emissions while the vessel sails in liquid fuel mode,” the shipping line added.

“In addition, all vessels of the series are among the first globally to feature a boil-off gas partial re-liquefaction system, which significantly reduces cargo losses while on long voyages or awaiting cargo operations,” said SCF.

SCF is developing into one of the world’s premier energy shipping companies, specialising in crude oil, petroleum products and liquefied gas, as well as the servicing of offshore oil and gas production.

The Group’s fleet has total deadweight of over 12.7 million tonnes, including vessels owned through joint ventures. More than 80 vessels are of ice class for Arctic waters.

Sovcomflot, the Russian shipping line with 16 LNG carriers and an overall fleet of 147 vessels, said it held a ceremony for the naming a new LNG carrier named after a French Pacific maritime explorer.