Three icebreakers ordered to support Sakhalin offshore project

Arctech Helsinki Shipyard signed a contract for building of three icebreaking stand-by vessels for Russia´s largest shipping company Sovcomflot.

Vessels will be built for the North East Sakhalin Offshore region oil and gas field where they will serve the operator of Sakhalin-2, Sakhalin Energy Investment Company Ltd. (SEIC). The contract was made in May 2014 and the total value of the order is about USD 380 million.

Designing of the icebreaking stand-by vessels will start immediately and the vessels will be delivered between September 2016 and March 2017. The series of the state-of-the-art icebreaking vessels for Sovcomflot includes also one bigger platform supply vessel, which was contracted between Arctech and Sovcomflot in April 2014.

The icebreaking stand-by vessels are designed for stand-by and rescue duties and for oil spill recovery. They can also be used as supply vessels for cargo transfer e.g. for low flashpoint fuels. The vessels measure 95 m in length and 22 m in breadth and are based on Aker Arctic concept Aker ARC 121. The four diesel generator engines have the total power of about 20 000 kW and the propulsion power of the vessel is 13 000 kW. The design fulfils demanding requirements set forth by SEIC with a total capacity of 98 persons onboard. Projects will be carried out by utilizing a strong Arctic know-how and co-operation by Finnish shipbuilders and designers.

“We are extremely satisfied to receive an order of three arctic offshore vessels from Sovcomflot. This remarkable order of one + three vessels brings a lot of work to our shipyard and to the whole maritime cluster. We will also strengthen our organization considerably”, says Esko Mustamäki, Managing Director of Arctech Helsinki Shipyard.

The vessels will be operating in thick drifting ice for ice management and icebreaking in temperatures as cold as minus 35 C°. The icebreaking capability of the stand-by vessels is extremely high; the vessels are able to proceed independently in 1.5 meter thick ice. The vessels will be outfitted for emergency evacuation, fire fighting operations and helicopter operations. The vessels can also act as diving support vessel as they are outfitted with a moon pool.