One year after taking delivery of its first ‘Green Funnel’ LNG-fueled Aframax crude oil tanker, Russian shipping company PAO Sovcomflot (SCF Group) revealed that using LNG as a primary fuel for these large-capacity tankers enabled a 30% reduction of CO2 emissions compared with similar vessels powered by traditional heavy fuel.
This reduction exceeds the original design target values, the company said.
This was announced by Igor Tonkovidov, Executive Vice President and CTO/COO of Sovcomflot, delivering a report on the first results of operating ‘Green Funnel’ series tankers, while visiting Zvezda Shipbuilding Complex in the Russian Far East.
This is where another five similar LNG-fueled large-capacity tankers are under construction for Sovcomflot. During the second half of 2018, Sovcomflot placed orders for the ships, which will be time-chartered to Rosneft and Novatek once delivered.
It is remarkable that during the round-trip voyage from Primorsk to Rotterdam and back, an LNG-fueled ‘Green Funnel’ tanker of Sovcomflot emits 350 tonnes of CO2 less than a similar vessel powered by a standard marine fuel. By 2023, SCF Group plans to have 11 LNG-fueled tankers in its fleet, with five more under technical management,
…said Igor Tonkovidov.
Sovcomflot’s fleet includes 146 vessels with a total deadweight of over 12.8 million tonnes. More than 80 vessels have an ice class.
The company is involved in servicing large oil and gas projects in Russia and around the world: Sakhalin-1; Sakhalin-2; Varandey; Prirazlomnoye; Novy Port; Yamal LNG, and Tangguh.
In 2018-2019, Sovcomflot took delivery of six 114,000-dwt LNG-fueled Aframax crude oil tankers of Arc4 ice class.
