The icebreaking LNG Carrier ‘Vladimir Rusanov’, jointly ordered by Japanese MOL and China COSCO Shipping Corporation Limited, conducted its first loading operations in the Yamal LNG plant at Sabetta port, from 27 to 28 March. The vessel is the first of three newbuilding vessels for MOL and China COSCO Shipping’s fleets in the Yamal LNG Project, announced in July 2014, and will sail under a long-term charter contract to transport LNG for the project.
The vessel left the DSME Okpo shipyard after her naming ceremony on 21 December and headed to the Arctic Ocean through the Suez Canal for ice trials. The ice trials took place over three weeks in the presence of MOL’s technical engineers and marine experts, her Charterer Yamal LNG, her builder DSME, and the manufacturers of her main equipment. The vessel was handed over to the Yamal LNG project, after the completion of the ice trials test of the vessel’s independent icebreaking capabilities in the Arctic Ocean.
DSME will deliver the second and third vessel to the Yamal LNG project, after completion of their construction at the end of September 2018 and September 2019 respectively.
The Arctic is a rich repository of natural resources, holding an estimated 13% of the world’s undiscovered oil resources and 30% of its undiscovered natural gas resources, according to an assessment conducted by the US Geological Survey (USGS). Investment in the next large LNG project near Russia’s Yamal Peninsula is expected, giving further momentum to stable resource procurement from the Arctic Ocean via the shorter Northern Sea Route, a significant benefit for Japan’s energy resource needs.
