Russian LNG-Gorskaya LLC has signed a contract with the compatriot shipbuilder United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) for the construction of Russia’s first three LNG bunkering tankers.
The order forms part of a plan to order up to 9 bunkering units intended for delivering fuel from an LNG plant being built at Gorskaya station near Saint-Petersburg. The plant is expected to have an annual capacity of 1.26 million tons of LNG.
The three tankers with capacity of 7,300 cbm each are worth a total of RUB 5.67 bln (around USD 106 mln) and are slated for delivery in 2017.
The ships will feature a number of innovative solutions including GTT LNG storage technology.
LNG-Gorskaya LLC plans to use its LNG bunkering fleet to deliver LNG to European consumers and to bunker vessels in the water area of the Gulf of Finland.
Aside of the floating LNG plant and the bunkering vessels, the project purports the construction pier, loading rack and gas pipeline, as well as the creation of several LNG terminals in Finland, Germany and Sweden.
The complex is expected to kick off operations and start selling LNG by the end of 2017.