Arc7 ice-class tanker launched in Finland

The Arc7 ice-class gas-condensate tanker Yuriy Kuchiev with a MarFlex deepwell pump system was recently delivered to its owner.

According to VesselsValue, the 52,300-dwt MR2 Arc7 arctic tanker was built at the Arctech shipyard in Helsinki, Finland, for Dynacom Tankers of Greece and classed by Bureau Veritas. The vessel is equipped with a Wärtsilä 12V32 medium-speed diesel main engine rated at 6,960 KW at 750 rpm.

The tanker incorporates the ice-breaking bow section built in Brodotrogir Shipyard in Croatia, with the two sections welded together in Finland in August 2018 and the vessel floated out from the dock in April 2019.

The shipyard was acquired by Russian interests in May 2019. The new tanker will be chartered by a Russian natural gas producer and used to transport gas-condensate from the port of Sabetta, located on the Yamal peninsula in Arctic Russia, to various international destinations.

The tanker’s hull is strengthened to ice class Arc7, which allows the vessel to operate in up to 1.8-m thick, first-year ice during the winter and spring navigation seasons, and in second-year ice during summer and autumn. The vessel is also thoroughly winterised for operations in ambient temperatures down to -50°C. MarFlex has had all the pump equipment tested at -60°C.

“We would like to thank all parties who contributed to the contract for this challenging vessel for their excellent collaboration and for their confidence in our electrically-driven cargo pumping system, which is the best and most suitable and proven solution for arctic conditions,” said MarFlex Sales Manager Richard Beek.

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