Russia’s first LNG bunkering vessel has completed sea trials and should join Gazprom Neft’s fleet in the second half of this year.
The trials included testing the vessel’s main propulsion systems, navigation equipment and control systems, according to a Gazprom Neft statement on Friday.
Keppel’s Nantong yard in China will now test LNG loading, storage and unloading systems of the vessel.
To remind, Keppel Singmarine, a unit of Singapore’s Keppel Offshore & Marine, won the contract to build the 5,800-cbm Arc4 ice-class vessel back in December 2018.
The yard launched the LNG bunkering vessel named after Russian chemist and researcher Dmitry Mendeleev in December.
Following delivery, the vessel will provide LNG via ship-to-ship transfers throughout the Baltic Sea.
These include clients at major ports in St Petersburg, Ust-Luga, Primorsk but also elsewhere, according to Gazprom Neft, a unit of Russian gas giant Gazprom.
As per the specifications, the vessel is 100 metres long, and 19 metres wide. Its Arc4 ice-class reinforced hull enables it to navigate one-year-old ice of up to 80 cm thick, independently.
The vessel features dual-fueled Wartsila engines that will also use LNG as fuel.
Additionally, the ships’ integrated digital system allows that just one crew member controls the vessel directly from the navigation bridge, the Russian firm said.
