Russian state-owned shipping firm Sovcomflot has signed an agreement with state-controlled bank VEB for financing of a pilot Arc7 ice-class LNG carrier.
The vessel, which will be built at the Rosneft-led Zvezda shipyard in Russia's far east, will be under a long-term charter with Novatek for use in the planned 19.8mn t/yr Arctic LNG 2 project.
Sovcomflot placed the order with Zvezda in April, with the vessel set to be the first Arc7 LNG carrier built in Russia. The carrier is expected to be delivered in the first quarter of 2023, Rosneft said previously.
Changes to Russia's merchant shipping code mean that vessels built outside the country may no longer sail through the Northern Sea Route, although Novatek secured exemptions from the new rules for its existing Arc7 fleet, all of which were built at South Korean shipbuilder DSME's Okpo shipyard.
Novatek estimates that 15-17 Arc7 LNG carriers would be required to serve Arctic LNG 2 by the end of 2025, when the third train is expected to ramp up production. Orders for these vessels are set to also be placed with Zvezda, Novatek noted.
VEB is considering the financing of these additional vessels, chairman Igor Shuvalov said in September. But the vessels will be designed more specifically for ice navigation and will be able to travel through ice thickness of 2m at a speed of 8-9 knots, Novatek chairman Leonid Mikhelson said.
The bank is also set to finance the first stage of the Gazprom-led 13mn t/yr Ust-Luga LNG project, Shuvalov said in September, after Shell pulled out of the project — then called Baltic LNG — following the inclusion of RusGasDobycha, the owners of which are linked to Russian president Vladimir Putin.
