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According to a statement by Sovcomflot, a naming ceremony for the 172,600-cbm Konstantin Posyet, the second ice-class Arc7 carrier in a series of 15 vessels that will serve the Novatek-operated Arctic LNG 2 project, took place at the yard located in Primorsky Krai on Thursday.
Sovcomflot said the 300-meter-long vessel was built with financial support from VEB.RF, and construction was supervised by the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RS).
The vessel will operate under the Russian flag as part of a long-term time-charter contract with Arctic LNG 2. Its crew consists of 29 Russian seafarers.
In December last year, Zvezda delivered the first LNG carrier in this series, Aleksey Kosygin, to Sovcomflot.
After that, the vessel completed its maiden voyage from Novatek’s Arctic LNG 2 plant on the Gydan Peninsula to the 361,600-cbm Saam FSU at the site in Ura Bay near Murmansk in February this year.
Zvezda kicked off this 15-vessel project in a partnership with South Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries and French LNG containment specialist GTT.
However, GTT ceased all of its activities in Russia in 2023 following new EU sanctions against Russia and Russian companies, including the tank design of 15 ice-breaking LNG carriers under construction at Zvezda.
Last year, Samsung Heavy also terminated contracts for 10 ice-class Arc7 LNG carriers and seven shuttle tankers with Zvezda.
Arctic LNG 2
This project provides an important stimulus to develop the Russian shipbuilding industry.
The construction of these LNG carriers will ensure year-round LNG transport along the Northern Sea Route to the Asia-Pacific region.
However, the Arctic 2 LNG project has been severely impacted by sanctions from the EU, the US, and the UK.
In August 2024, Novatek delivered the second gravity-based structure platform from its yard near Murmansk to the site of the Arctic LNG 2 project located on the Gydan peninsula.
The company completed the second GBS despite sanctions by the US and the EU related to the Arctic LNG 2 project and LNG carriers.
The first GBS left the Belokamenka yard in July 2024, and Novatek completed the installation of the underbase foundation on the seabed at the Utrenniy terminal in August.
The first and second GBS each have a capacity of about 6.6 mtpa.
It is worth noting that a Novatek unit recently received Russian approval to acquire a 10 percent stake in the Arctic LNG 2 project from French energy giant TotalEnergies, according to a presidential decree.