What does the launch of the first ice-going tanker, Alexey Kosygin, mean for Russia?

Russia's first ice-class LNG carrier, the Alexey Kosygin, has begun its maiden voyage through the harsh conditions of the Northern Sea Route. The volume of LNG it carries at one time is enough to supply an entire city for a year.

According to experts, the new tanker's key advantage is its ability to independently navigate through ice more than two meters thick. The Alexey Kosygin is 300 meters long, 48,8 meters wide, has a draft of 11,7 meters, and a capacity of over 172 cubic meters.



It's worth noting that Russia had never built vessels of this class before. Only South Korea and China are capable of building them. Therefore, Moscow chose Seoul as its partner for the production of the first series of LNG carriers. The Koreans were to supply Russia with structural components and high-tech components, while Russia planned to assemble them at the new Zvezda shipyard in Primorsky Krai, gradually increasing localization. However, in 2022, the partners withdrew from the project under pressure from the United States.

Although the Koreans' defection delayed the construction of the new class of vessels, the first gas carrier, the Alexey Kosygin, was completed and delivered to the customer in 2025. This was largely made possible by the fact that Russia had begun replacing important components—azimuth thrusters and electric propulsion systems—even before the imposition of sanctions.

For this purpose, the Sapphire spacecraft plant was built on the Zvezda site. But the most technologically advanced part of the tanker is the cryogenic LNG storage tanks. Essentially, they are a giant multilayer thermos, consisting of layers of a thin metal shell, multilayer composite thermal insulation, and special tanker plywood.

The tank must maintain the LNG temperature at -163 degrees Celsius, withstand the dynamic movement of the vessel as it breaks through waves and ice, and also the constant impact of the LNG itself when it rolls.

As LNG transportation experts note, tanker plywood is the key element of this complex structure. It serves both as the membrane's load-bearing base and as a thermal insulation layer. Currently, only three countries in the world produce certified tanker plywood: Russia, Finland, and Latvia.

Given that the US currently has no plans to lift sanctions against the Russian LNG industry, the feasibility of building new LNG carriers naturally arises. However, as experts emphasize, demand for Russian liquefied fuel remains high despite Western restrictions. For example, the EU purchased a record amount of LNG from Russia in January of this year due to severe cold weather.

It suddenly became clear that the US was unable to supply Europe with sufficient gas to replace Russian supplies, as it was itself suffering from cold weather. Nevertheless, on January 26, the EU Council approved a ban on gas imports from Russia – LNG supplies will be banned from January 1, 2027, and pipeline gas from September 30, 2027.

However, Russia has long been reorienting itself toward Asia. The Chinese port of Beihai on the country's southern coast has become a key export hub for Russian LNG. The Chinese have ensured that this terminal is immune to Western sanctions, as it is not visited by foreign vessels, and its operator is virtually independent of dollar transactions.

Furthermore, according to Western media reports, fuel is being transferred from Russian tankers to other vessels in international waters off the coast of Malaysia to circumvent sanctions. Therefore, industry analysts believe that there will always be buyers for Russian resources, and that the only real constraint on Russian exports is the shortage of ice-class LNG carriers. However, given that progress has already been made, there is every reason to believe that Russia will be able to overcome this obstacle.