Sovcomflot and Gazprom Neft successfully conducted Russia’s first ever bunkering of a marine vessel with LNG, on 23 September.
Namely, Gazprom Neft’s bunker vessel Dmitry Mendeelev bunkered Sovcomflot’s green series tanker Prospekt Koroleva in the Port of Ust-Luga. The tanker took on board 1,432 cubic meters (m3) of LNG fuel during the bunkering operation that lasted four hours.
Before the bunkering, on September 2021, Sovcomflot and Gazprom Neft had signed an agreement on cooperation in the development of innovative technologies and the use of marine fuels with a low carbon footprint in maritime transport.
What is more, currently, under the order of Sovcomflot, SSK Zvezda is building five oil and oil product tankers designed to use LNG as the main fuel.
We welcome the efforts of Gazprom Neft to develop the infrastructure for bunkering ships with low-carbon fuel in Russia. Sovcomflot is consistently working to reduce emissions from the operation of its ships
said Igor Tonkovidov , CEO – Chairman of the Management Board of PAO Sovcomflot.
In addition, Anatoly Cherner , Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of PJSC Gazprom Neft, stated that “liquefied natural gas has a high market potential due to its environmental and performance characteristics. The first side-to-side refuelling with liquefied natural gas we made in Russia actually kick-starts the development of a new fuel segment in the domestic shipping industry.”
