Russian natural gas producer Novatek announced that the Arc7 ice-class LNG tanker ‘Vladimir Rusanov’ completed the Northern Sea Route (NSR) passage via the Eastern direction, delivering an LNG cargo from the Yamal LNG project, at the port of Sabetta, to China’s port of Tianjin.
The Vladimir Rusanov departed the Sabetta port on June 29 and transited the ice-covered part of the route in six days, setting a new record for independent passage via the NSR without ice-breaking support and with cargo onboard, Novatek said.
The net voyage time from Sabetta to the destination port was completed in 16 days, which is less than half the time required to transport a cargo of LNG along the traditional westbound route via the Suez Canal and Strait of Malacca.
For the second year in a row, our Arc7 ice-class LNG tankers were once again the first ships to open the summer navigation period via the Northern Sea Route. This voyage set a number of records for the passage time of the ice part of the NSR, and for the total voyage time to China from the Russian Arctic region,
…noted first Deputy Chairman of the Management Board Lev Feodosyev.
Vladimir Rusanov was built by South Korean shipbuilder DSME and is jointly owned by Japanese MOL and China COSCO Shipping Corporation Limited.
In February, Vladimir Rusanov’s sister ship, ‘Vladimir Vize’ shipped the milestone cargo number 136, marking 10 million tonnes of LNG that was produced at the Yamal LNG facility since December 2017.
