Russian Zvezda yard has officially started building two LNG-powered tankers which will serve Sovcomflot and Rosneft.
The yard said in a statement it held a keel-laying ceremony on Tuesday for the eighth LNG-powered Aframax in series of twelve vessels.
Russia’s largest shipping firm Sovcomflot ordered this but also one more LNG-powered Aframax tanker back in 2018 and they would both go on charter to Rosneft, according to Zvezda.
The yard expects to deliver the first tanker in 2022 followed by the second in 2023.
To remind, Zvezda started work on the seventh vessel in this series of LNG-powered Aframax tankers earlier this month.
Rosneft’s unit Rosnefteflot ordered ten of these dual-fuel vessels at the Russian yard.
The first vessel in this series, Vladimir Monomakh, embarked on its maiden voyage in January, Rosnefteflot previously said.
These are the first Russian-built Aframax tankers and they will all feature WinGD LNG propulsion, but they can also run on HFO. The 114,000 dwt tankers will be 250 meters long and 44 meters wide.
Keel laid for the first LNG-powered MR tanker
Zvezda said in a separate statement it also laid the keel for the first of three LNG-powered MR product tankers it will build for Sovcomflot.
The 180 meters long vessel with a draft of 13.4 meters will be named Ivan Aivazovsky, according to Zvezda.
Furthermore, the ice-class tanker and its two sister vessels will serve SCF Atlantic, a unit of Sovcomflot, to ship oil products and gas condensate.
Their ice-class 1B notation would allow them to carry out year-round navigation, including in the ice conditions of the Baltic Sea, Zvezda said.
Zvezda is a large shipbuilding complex located in the town of Bolshoy Kamen in the Russian Far East.
Moreover, a consortium consisting of Rosneftegaz, Rosneft but also Gazprombank owns the shipbuilder.