Russia’s first LNG bunkering vessel launched

Russia’s Gazprom Neft said that the country’s first cargo and passenger ship-to-ship LNG-bunkering vessel has been set afloat.

In its statement, Gazprom Neft added that the shipyard completed the main stage in the vessel’s construction, including assembling the hull and installing LNG fuel tanks and other auxiliary systems, in record time.

The vessel has been moved to dock for final installation of navigation systems and controls, and installation of key equipment rooms.

Sea trials are planned for spring 2021.

To remind, the vessel is being built by Singapore’s Keppel Shipyard.

The LNG-bunkering vessel, named Dmitry Mendeleev, will join Gazprom Neft’s fleet in the second half of 2021.

This new vessel will provide transportation and bunkering of low-tonnage LNG fuel at ports in the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea including St Petersburg, Ust-Luga and Primorsk.

The vessel is 100 meters long, 19 meters wide, and can transport up to 5,800 cubic meters of LNG.

Its Arc4 ice-class reinforced hull means it can navigate one-year-old ice of up to 80 cm thick independently, while its integrated digital system means it can be controlled by just one crew member, directly from the navigation bridge.