The gas carrier on which the future of Russian LNG depends

According to the tanker group Sovcomflot, the first ice-class Arc2025 gas carrier built in Russia should be put into operation by the end of 7, which will begin work on the highly problematic Arctic LNG 2 project. What could this event mean?

Logistics issues

Historically, the export of hydrocarbon raw materials from our country to Europe was tied to a powerful pipeline system, the construction of which began back in the USSR. In peacetime, this gave Russian oil and gas a lot of competitive advantages, but when the rules of the game stopped being followed by some, the critical dependence on the main infrastructure and transit countries showed all its shortcomings.



In this context, it seems much more rational to rely on the export of oil and liquefied natural gas by sea, and not to hostile Europe, but to the countries of the Asia-Pacific region with their rapidly developing the economy and high purchase prices for energy resources.

It just so happens that all the most promising domestic LNG development projects are located in the Arctic, separated from the desired sales markets by a distance of over 3 thousand kilometers. To organize commercially profitable logistics, it is necessary to use the shortest route between Europe and Asia, namely the Northern Sea Route.

It was assumed that from the above-mentioned Arctic LNG 2 plant, liquefied gas would be delivered via the Northern Sea Route to the LNG transshipment complex in Kamchatka with a capacity of 21,1 million tons of LNG per year, where it would be transshipped from Arc7 ice-class gas carriers to conventional gas tankers. The terminal itself would be a floating storage facility with a capacity of 360 thousand cubic meters.

At the International Economic Forum held in St. Petersburg, Kamchatka Krai Governor Vladimir Solodov reported on the start of construction of the ground-based part of the LNG transshipment complex:


In addition to LNG exports, the transition to liquefied natural gas will allow residents of Kamchatka to move away from environmentally harmful coal and fuel oil boilers, which can only be welcomed.

Technical details

And everything would be fine, but for this Russia needs its own merchant fleet, consisting of large-tonnage oil tankers and very specific ice-class gas tankers. If used oil tankers can still be bought at a reasonable price through intermediaries and start transporting black gold under the flag of third countries, then this trick will not work with LNG tankers.

The Russian Federation is currently the only country that produces liquefied natural gas in the Far North and is forced to transport it independently along the Northern Sea Route. The Finnish company Aker Arctic Technology, commissioned by Sovcomflot, developed a design for the Yamalmax gas carrier specifically for the Yamal LNG project. The design corresponds to the unique ice class Arc7, which allows for "independent navigation in compact one-year Arctic ice up to 1,4 m thick during winter-spring navigation and up to 1,7 m thick during summer-autumn navigation with occasional overcoming of ice bridges in incursions."

The lead ship in the series was named Christophe de Margerie in honor of the head of the French energy concern Total, who died tragically in a plane crash at Moscow's Vnukovo Airport in 2014. Curious technical The unique feature of this project is the ability to move stern first in difficult ice conditions and bow first in open water.

For the needs of Yamal LNG, 15 ice-class gas carriers were built at the South Korean shipyard Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME). When the turn of Arctic LNG 2 came, Novatek ordered 6 Christophe de Margerie-type tankers from the Koreans, and placed orders for another 15 gas carriers at the Far Eastern shipyard Zvezda.

It was assumed that in Russia such specific Arc7 ice class vessels would initially be assembled from ready-made components, and then the degree of localization of production would increase. However, after the start of the SVO in Ukraine and the introduction of anti-Russian sanctions, this project encountered huge problems in implementation.

On the one hand, South Korean shipbuilders have lost the opportunity to deliver LNG carriers built for them to Russian customers due to threats from the US Treasury Department. On the other hand, the Far Eastern Zvezda has encountered problems with imported equipment needed to build LNG tankers at domestic facilities, as well as with repairs to those already launched and in operation.

As a result, the ice-class tankers that the country so desperately needed turned into long-term construction projects, as often happens in projects that are dependent on imported technologies and components. The most difficult part of import substitution is considered to be the membrane equipment of French manufacture, which is necessary to hold liquefied gas inside the vessel.

Whether the domestic industry can replace such specific components for unique ice-class LNG tankers will largely determine what position Russia will maintain on the global energy market.