Russia’s Zvezda Shipbuilding reported it has signed an agreement with South Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries to cooperate on the design and construction of a new series of Arc7 class icebreaking LNG carriers for the Arctic LNG-2 project
Under the contract signed at the Eastern Economic Forum, Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) will be the technical partner for the project, providing documentation and design support to Zvezda Shipbuilding in the construction of the LNG carriers.
In 2018, Russian natural gas producer Novatek had reserved the capacity at the shipyard to build a series of LNG carriers for the Arctic LNG-2 project. In April, Russia’s largest shipping company Sovcomflot signed an agreement with Zvezda to build what would be the first Arc7 icebreaking LNG carrier constructed in Russia. As many as 17 vessels would be built, all flying the Russian flag. The vessels would be delivered between 2023 and 2026.
Sovcomflot owns Christophe de Margerie, the first Arc7 class icebreaking LNGC built by South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) for the Yamal LNG project. Christophe de Margerie, named for the former chairman and chief executive of Total, has an overall length of 299 m, beam of 50 m, depth of 26.5 m and loaded draught of 11.5 m. Built to Bureau Veritas class, the LNGC has the capability of sailing through ice up to 2.1 m thick, enabling it to navigate the Northern Route to and from the Yamal LNG project.
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