Table: Two Arc7 Arctic LNG tankers start sea trials to join Yamal fleet

Dynagas LNG Partners LP

18/06/2019 07:58

LONDON, June 18 (Reuters) - A new Arc7 class ice-breaking
liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker, the Nikolay Urvantsev, is
undergoing sea trials, Refinitiv data shows, becoming the 13th
vessel to join a fleet servicing Novatek's  NVTK.MM  Yamal
plant.
    The vessel, previously known only as DMSE 2432, is owned by
Mitsui OSK Lines  9104.T  (MOL) and was built at the Daewoo
Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME)  042660.KS  Okpo
shipyard in South Korea. It is currently in the Korea Strait.
    Another Arc7 tanker, the Vladimir Voronin, is also
undergoing sea trials. The Nikolay Yevgenov, meanwhile, which
underwent sea trials in April, delivered its first cargo last
week.
    The Yakov Gakkel, which had been due to begin operation next
year, is in wet dock at Okpo, indicating that it will begin sea
trials soon. 
    The tankers are part of a 15-strong fleet ordered by LNG
tanker companies for the Yamal LNG production facility, which
began operations in December 2017 and has contributed to a boom
in LNG supplies over the past 18 months.
    Yamal is dependent on the ice-breaker tankers to ship LNG
out of the Arctic waters. Novatek had asked DSME to speed up
construction and delivery of the tankers after production at the
LNG plant ramped up faster than expected.
    The tankers have largely conducted ship-to-ship LNG
transfers to conventional carriers, but during summer months
they can traverse the Northern Sea Route eastwards to China.
    All but one of the tankers are named after Russian arctic
explorers and scientists. The first Arc7 tanker, the Christophe
De Margerie, is named after the former chief of Yamal's partner,
Total  TOTF.PA , who died in an air crash in Russia in 2014. 
   
    
 Vessel                         Status               Operator
 Chris. de Margerie             In operation         Sovcomflot
 Boris Vilkitsky                In operation         Dynagas
 Vladimir Rusanov               In operation         MOL
 Fedor Litke                    In operation         Dynagas
 Eduard Toll                    In operation         Teekay
 Rudolf Samoylovich             In operation         Teekay
 Vladimir Vize                  In operation         MOL
 Georgiy Brusilov               In operation         Dynagas
 Boris Davydov (DSME 2428)      In operation         Dynagas
 Nikolay Zubkov (DSME 2429)     In operation         Dynagas
 Nikolay Yevgenov (DSME 2430)   In operation         Teekay
 Vladimir Voronin (DSME 2431)   Sea trials           Teekay
 Nikolay Urvantsev(DSME 2432)   Sea trials           MOL
 Georgiy Ushakov (DSME 2433)    Due Jan 29, 2020     Teekay
 Yakov Gakkel (DSME 2434)       Wet dock             Teekay
 
 (Reporting by Sabina Zawadzki
Editing by David Goodman)
 ((sabina.zawadzki@thomsonreuters.com; +44 207 542 4051;))