Russian shipowner Sovcomflot’s new 174,000-m3 LNG carrier SCF Timmerman has embarked upon its maiden commercial voyage under a long-term time charter agreement with Shell
The LNG carrier was underway on 18 January in the East China Sea according to AIS data from Maritime Traffic. Sovcomflot (SCF) reported the charter adds US$165M to its contract backlog.
With an overall length of 299 m, beam of 46.4 m and depth of 26.5 m, the Liberia-flag vessel is named for Frans Timmerman, a 17th-century Dutch merchant who served as a shipbuilding mentor to the Russian emperor Peter the Great and played an important role in creating the Russian seaborne fleet.
Built to Bureau Veritas class, SCF Timmerman is under the technical management of SCF Management Services (Dubai) Ltd.
At the naming ceremony on 12 January at South Korea’s Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries, SCF president and chief executive Igor Tonkovidov noted the long-standing relationship with Shell, one of SCF’s biggest charterers. “All projects realised by the two companies over the last five years are distinguished by high levels of environmental safety and the adoption of energy-saving shipping technologies,” said Mr Tonkovidov. “By adding another vessel to our gas fleet and expanding our co-operation with Shell, we contribute to achieving our strategic goals of solidifying our position in LNG shipping and growing our portfolio of long-term, fixed income contracts, which provide SCF with stable cash flows, resistant to freight market fluctuations.”
SCF Timmerman is the third vessel in a series of new-generation Atlanticmax LNG carriers ordered by SCF Group in 2018. The lead vessel of the series, SCF La Perouse, was delivered to SCF in February 2020 and is time chartered to Total.
The second vessel in the series, SCF Barents, was delivered to SCF in September 2020 and is time chartered to Shell.
According to SCF, the LNG carriers in the series incorporate the latest technologies in terms of safety, environmental protection and energy efficiency, with their fuel consumption substantially reduced compared to the preceding generation of vessels.
Each LNG carrier is equipped with GTT’s Mark III Flex cargo containment system, WinGD’s slow-speed, Otto-cycle, dual-fuel X-DF engine, and a system that reduces nitrogen oxide emissions while the vessel sails in liquid fuel mode. Additionally, all vessels of the series are among the first globally to feature a boil-off gas partial re-liquefaction system, which significantly reduces cargo losses while on long voyages or awaiting cargo operations.
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