The delivery is scheduled for September 2024

 Zvezda Shipbuilding Complex (Bolshoy Kamen, Primorsky Territory) says it has started steel cutting for yet another ship in the series of ARC7 LNG carriers ordered for the Arctic LNG 2 project.

It is the seventh vessel in a series of 15 LNG carriers. It is owned by SMART LNG, a joint venture between Sovcomflot and NOVATEK.

The contracts for building a series of 15 Arctic gas carriers of ARC7 class was signed by SSK Zvezda and companies of VEB.RF group in December 2019 – July 2020. The steel-cutting ceremony for the lead ship in the series was held in November 2020.

Vessels of the new series are designed for year-round LNG transportation along the Northern Sea Route (NSR), including its eastern sector. They are assigned Arc7 ice class and will have increased icebreaking capabilities and manoeuvrability in ice compared with the first generation of Arctic LNG carriers. The delivery of these new vessels will help facilitate the growth of cargo traffic along the NSR.

Ships of the new series are 300 metres long, 48.8 metres wide, and will have a cargo capacity of 172,600 m3. The propulsion system includes three azimuth propulsion units, with a total capacity of 45 MW. 

The tanker will be fitted with the Mark III membrane containment system designed by Gaztransport & Technigaz (GTT). In July 2020, Zvezda signed a technical assistance and licensing agreement with the French engineering company Gaztransport & Technigaz, which specialises in developing and licensing the construction of cryogenic membrane systems for LNG transportation and storage, obtained an international licence and became the only Russian shipyard that can build LNG carriers with the Mark 3 membrane storage system.

The ship will be also equipped with three unique PODs. To design and manufacture electric steerable thrusters for ice class ships, Sapphire Applied Engineering and Training Centre LLC was established in Saint-Petersburg as a joint venture of General Electric and Rosneft Oil Company as well as Sapphire plant in Bolshoy Kamen.

All 15 vessels will operate under the Russian flag.

The Zvezda Shipbuilding Complex is constructed by the Rosneft-led Consortium upon the instruction of President of Russia Vladimir Putin. The following facilities have already been put into operation at Zvezda Shipbuilding Complex: the hull production workshop, painting booths, the open heavy outfitting slipway equipped with unique cranes and a state-of-the-art ship transportation system, and the floating transfer dock.

The product line of Zvezda will include vessels with a displacement of up to 350,000 tonnes, elements of offshore platforms, ice-class vessels, commercial vessels for cargo transportation, special vessels and other types of marine equipment of any complexity, characteristics and purposes. At the moment the Shipyard's order portfolio exceeds 60 vessels.

Image source: Zvezda
Source: PortNews