Russian Zvezda shipyard has started building the first out of three LNG-powered MR-class product tankers for compatriot shipping firm Sovcmoflot.
The yard held a keel laying ceremony for the vessel on Friday, according to a statement by state-owned Rosneft.
The 51,000-dwt ice-class vessels will serve independent LNG producer Novatek under long-term charter deals signed in December 2018.
They will transport petroleum products and gas condensate in areas with challenging ice conditions, including the Baltic Sea.
Zvezda has already twelve Sovcomflot Aframax tankers on order out of which five are under construction.
Rosneft’s unit Rosnefteflot will use these five tankers for crude oil transportation.
These are first Russian-builit Aframax tankers and they will all feature LNG propulsion.
The Zvezda shipyard is a large shipbuilding complex located in the town of Bolshoy Kamen in the Russian Far East.
It is a run by a consortium consisting of Rosneftegaz, Rosneft, and Gazprombank.