Novatek said it has completed Russia’s first ship-to-ship LNG transshipment in the Kildin Strait of the Barents Sea.
Teekay’s Arc7 ice-class tanker Nikolay Yevgenov reloaded an LNG cargo delivered from Novatek’s Yamal facility at Sabetta to the conventional tanker Yamal Spirit.
The ship-to-ship transfer took place at a temporary offshore transshipment complex in the Murmansk region within the seaport of Murmansk.
The complex will ensure year-round LNG transshipment from the ice-class tankers carrying LNG produced in the Russian Arctic to conventional tankers.
To remind, this move follows a test call at the site completed in August this year by Sovcomfot’s LNG carrier Christophe de Margerie.
Additionally, Novatek says the transshipment complex represents “another significant milestone” in developing the firm’s LNG supply chain from its facilities located in the Russian Arctic.
Besides Yamal LNG, this also includes Novatek’s second Arctic LNG project under construction and the company’s other developments in the Russian Arctic.
Novatek previously mainly conducted LNG STS operations at the Norwegian Arctic port of Honningsvag. It remains unclear whether the Russian firm has completely stopped using this location for these operations.