Russian media note that one of the NOVATEK ice-class Arctic LNG tankers chartered by the Yamal LNG project may have experienced a propulsion problem.
Accordingly, the LNG tanker “Nikolay Yevgenov” departed on January 6 from Sabetta and is planned to arrive in the Chinese port of Jingtang on January 28.
Local media outlet, Kommersant, reported that the vessel was conducting an independent passage along the NSR approaching the Bering Strait when the tanker slowed to approximately 3 knots. From tacking data, it appears it was stopped for several hours in the Chukchi Sea on the north side of the Strait.
It is reported that the tanker experienced an unspecified problem with one of its three Azipods motors. It s believed that the Azipod might have been damaged and would require replacement while others thought it might be a software problem that could be corrected by an engineer. It is also speculated that the vessel would be delayed on its arrival in China.
According to tracking data, the vessel is located into the Bering Sea, out of the ice, believed to be travelling at normal speeds on a southwesterly course off the Kamchatka Peninsula.
