Russia’s Zvezda lays keel for third Arctic LNG 2 carrier

Russian Zvezda shipyard has held a keel-laying ceremony for the third out of fifteen ice-class Arc7 carriers that will serve Novatek’s Arctic LNG 2 export project.

The yard said in a statement it held the ceremony on December 10 for the 172,600-cbm LNG carrier Sergei Witte. Zvezda should complete this vessel in 2023.

This is the second LNG carrier in a batch of 14 vessels Sovcomflot had ordered together with independent LNG producer Novatek as part of the SMART LNG joint venture.

To remind, Zvezda held a keel-laying ceremony for the first vessel in June but Sovcomflot ordered this vessel directly at Zvezda. It held the same ceremony for the second vessel in August as well.

Russia’s Zvezda lays keel for third Arctic LNG 2 carrier
Image: Zvezda

Also, Zvezda is building all of these vessels in a partnership with South Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries that provides technological support.

All of the LNG carriers will operate under the Russian flag and they will be 300 meters long but also 48.8 meters wide, and feature GTT’s Mark III membrane containment system.

In addition, the propulsion system includes three azimuth units with a total capacity of 45 MW.

First Arctic LNG 2 train to start ops in 2023

The construction of these LNG carriers will ensure year-round transport of LNG along the Northern Sea Route to the Asia-Pacific region.

Russia’s Zvezda lays keel for third Arctic LNG 2 carrier
Image: Zvezda

The Arctic 2 LNG project located on the Gydan peninsula includes the construction of three LNG trains with a capacity of 6.6 mtpa, each, using gravity-based structure platforms.

Novatek expects to launch the first LNG train in 2023, with trains 2 and 3 to follow in 2024 and 2025, respectively.

Besides operator Novatek, the project partners include TotalEnergies, CNPC, CNOOC, and the consortium of Mitsui and JOGMEC.

- Advertisements -

Most Popular

QatarEnergy picks shipowners for 18 giant LNG carriers

LNG giant QatarEnergy has selected shipowners to own and operate 18 Q-Max LNG carriers as part of its massive...

Canada’s FortisBC, Seaspan win provincial approval for Tilbury LNG jetty

Canadian utility and operator of the Tilbury LNG facility in the province of British Columbia, FortisBC, and its partner...

VTTI, IKAV to take majority stake in Italy’s Adriatic LNG terminal

Rotterdam-based storage terminal owner VTTI, co-owned by Vitol, IFM, and Adnoc, joined forces with German asset manager IKAV to...

More News Like This

Russia’s Gazprom to buy Shell’s stake in Sakhalin LNG terminal operator

Russia has approved the sale of a 27.5 percent stake, previously owned by LNG giant Shell, in the new...

Novatek reports profit of about $5.1 billion in 2023

Russian LNG producer Novatek reported a net profit of about 463 billion rubles ($5.09 billion) in 2023. The company...

TotalEnergies issues force majeure over Novatek’s Arctic LNG 2 project

French energy giant TotalEnergies has initiated a force majeure process on the Novatek-operated Arctic LNG 2 project in Russia...

Novatek’s gas sales rose 2.7 percent in 2023

Russian LNG exporter Novatek reported a 2.7 percent rise in its natural gas sales, including LNG, in 2023. Novatek said...