Gazprom and Sovcomflot name new LNG carrier

Gazprom and Sovcomflot have named their new state-of-the-art 170 000 m³ LNG carrier Pskov after one of Russia’s oldest cities. The LNG carrier will be chartered to Gazprom Global LNG (GGLNG) under a long-term contract.

The naming ceremony took place at the STX shipyard, South Korea.

The LNG carrier Pskov is the second vessel in a series of high-specification, ice class Atlanticmax LNG carriers that have been specially designed in accordance with Gazprom’s requirements, and will support the company’s global commercial operations in the gas markets. The first LNG carrier, Velikiy Novgorod, was delivered and entered service in January of this year.

The LNG carriers Velikiy Novgorod and Pskov are an integral part of the cooperation between Gazprom and Sovcomflot, aimed at development of new ‘Gaz Ice’ type LNG carriers for harsh environment conditions, with improved technical characteristics to meet Gazprom’s requirements. The Gaz Ice project is the result of joint cooperation between specialists from GGLNG, Sovcomflot, the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping and Russian shipbuilders. Special provisions have been made for progressive localisation of construction work for the LNG carriers at Russian shipyards.

Advanced vessel

LNG carriers of this type are among the most advanced vessels of their class. Their cutting-edge design (including tri-fuel diesel-electric propulsion systems) has been specially adapted for harsh environment operations (Ice2 according to the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping, with special hardware for operations in low temperature conditions). The design of the LNG carriers complies with the latest requirements regarding environmental standards, energy efficiency, crew working and leisure conditions, as well as onboard safety. The type of cargo system (reinforced membrane structure) is suited to operations in challenging climatic conditions. The LNG carrier Pskov is capable of transporting LNG on a year-round basis from practically all existing LNG terminals in the world, including Russia’s first LNG terminal, Sakhalin-2, and the future Vladivostok LNG terminal.

First class LNG transportation

Commenting on the announcement Evgeniy Ambrosov, Chief Operating Officer of OAO Sovcomflot, said: “The growth of SCF Group’s LNG tanker fleet, with the addition of the modern, high ice class vessel Pskov, is a logical development of SCF Group’s Strategy, which envisages significant growth of the Group’s gas transportation business, in line with the new industrial energy projects in harsh environments.

We are very grateful to our partners at Gazprom for the trust they have placed in us and in return are pleased to be able to offer them our first-class LNG transportation services, guaranteeing reliable, efficient and environmentally safe shipping. We are confident that this ship will allow Gazprom to strengthen its position in the global LNG production and supply markets.”

Adapted from press release by Callum O'Reilly

Read the article online at: https://www.lngindustry.com/lng-shipping/26082014/gazprom-and-sovcomflot-name-new-lng-carrier-1279/