SHIP-TO-SHIP transhipment of LNG is set to shorten the routes being sailed by icebreaking vessels serving the Yamal LNG project in Russia, thus increasing the efficiency of its transportation network. 

The Christophe de Margerie, an icebreaking LNG carrier owned and operated by SCF Group (Sovcomflot), recently completed a test call at Novatek’s Kildin Vostochny temporary anchorage transhipment complex, which is located off Kildin Island in the Barents Sea.

Novatek said that the successful test call and related operations at Kildin represents an important further step towards developing the logistics supporting Yamal LNG, as well as other prospective projects from the company in the Russian Arctic.

The expectation is that the Kildin Vostochny anchorage will be used for open-water ship-to-ship transhipment of LNG from Arc7 LNG carriers to conventional LNG carriers, which will then transport the LNG further west. This will reduce the round-trip times for Arc7 vessels, thereby increasing the efficiency of their operation.

“SCF continues to take an active part in the development of infrastructure to provide efficient and safe logistical support to industrial projects in the Russian Arctic, which will help facilitate the growth of cargo traffic along the Northern Sea Route,” comments Igor Tonkovidov, president and CEO of SCF Group.

The Christophe de Margerie was the first vessel to successfully berth at the Port of Sabetta’s LNG terminal on the Yamal Peninsula. She later transported the first cargo of LNG produced by the Yamal LNG plant, and recently became the first large-capacity cargo vessel to transit the full length of the Northern Sea Route eastbound in May, two months earlier than usual.

The shareholders in Yamal LNG are Novatek (50.1%), Total (20%), China National Petroleum Corporation (20%) and Silk Road Fund (9.9%).

Sovcomflot is Russia’s largest shipping company, and one of the global leaders in the maritime transportation of hydrocarbons, as well as the servicing and support of offshore exploration and oil & gas production.

The company’s fleet (owned & chartered) specializes in hydrocarbon transportation from regions with challenging icy conditions and includes 146 vessels with a combined deadweight of 12,648,839 tonnes with the average age of 9 years. A third of these vessels have a high ice class.