Sovcomflot has enjoyed an increase in earnings in the first nine months of 2019 and named a new ice-class shuttle tanker
Sovcomflot has announced unaudited results for the third quarter of 2019 and the first nine months of 2019. The Russian state-owned entity’s third quarter results showed a 6% growth in gross revenue compared to the same period in 2018 to US$418M. Net profit was US$26M compared to US$0.3M the year before.
Results for 2019 to the end of September were equally encouraging. The company produced a gross revenue of US$1.25Bn, an increase of 13% from the previous year and a profit of US$117M versus a loss of US$57M in the first nine months of 2018 .
Sovcomflot’s chairman of the board of directors Sergey Frank said: “We are satisfied with the Group’s performance over the third quarter. Sovcomflot steadily follows through on its strategy of increasing the share of large-scale industrial shipping projects in its portfolio. During the reporting period, Sovcomflot achieved a major strategic milestone when we agreed with Novatek to establish a new joint venture, Smart LNG. This new JV is envisaged to ensure safe and sustainable shipping solutions for the year-round transportation of LNG produced by Arctic LNG-2 as well as other current and prospective projects of Novatek.”
Sovcomflot’s president and chief executive Igor Tonkovidov said, “During the third quarter, the group achieved a steady increase in its operating and financial performance, with a growth in net profit, as the market remained volatile while demonstrating an upswing in conventional tanker rates. The group has increased its revenues from offshore services, including the shuttle transportation of crude oil, and from conventional tanker operations.”
He added: “In September and October 2019, three tankers of our Green Funnel series completed commercial voyages eastwards across the Northern Sea Route, using only ... LNG fuel.”
Earlier in the third quarter, Sovcomflot held a naming ceremony in Vladivostok for Sovcomflot’s latest Arctic shuttle tanker. The vessel was named after Mikhail Lazarev, a prominent Russian admiral and explorer known for his discovery of Antarctica.
Mikhail Lazarev is the latest in a series of unique shuttle tankers designed for the year-round transportation of crude oil from the Gulf of Ob (the Kara Sea) for the Novy Port project, operated by Gazprom Neft. The first three ships in the series were delivered in 2016 and have since safely transported 9.5M tonnes of oil across the Northern Sea Route.
All the vessels in this Shturman Albanov series are designed for year-round operations in the Arctic Sea basin. With an ice class of Arc7, they are capable of sailing independently through ice up to 1.8 m thick and operating at temperatures down to minus 45 degrees Centigrade.
Principal particulars:
Deadweight: 41,012 dwt
Ice class: Arc7
Length: 248.9 m
Breadth: 34 m
Draft when loaded: 9.5 m
Operating speed: 14 knots
Mikhail Lazarev is an example of one extreme of tanker design development. Hear more about the changes taking place in tanker technology at the Tanker Shipping & Trade Conference, Exhibition and Awards to be held in London in November.
© 2023 Riviera Maritime Media Ltd.