Demand for LNG carriers of different ice classes may exceed 30 units in 2016-2020 (photo)
The demand for LNG carriers of different ice classes may exceed 30 units in 2016-2020. According to the press center of Sovcomflot, this has been announced today at the annual coordinating meeting attended by the representatives of leading shipbuilding and oil & gas companies of Russia. The meeting was held within the framework of the company’s shipbuilding programme. The meeting was also attended by the representatives of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, United Shipbuilding Corporation, Gazprom, Novatek etc.
The participants focused their attention on the construction of LNG carriers and auxiliary fleet servicing oil and gas projects in the Arctic region of Russia.
The experts participating in the meeting have come to the following conclusion: current absence of Russian shipyards able to build vessels of required dimensions, tough schedule for commissioning of production facilities for oil and gas projects, lack of sufficient experience in Russian shipbuilding show that in the nearest years the demand of oil & gas companies can be fully satisfied only through the attraction of foreign shipbuilders.
“Unlike other large capacity vessels, gas carriers are much more difficult in construction, they require high technological precision. Attraction of the world’s latest shipbuilding technologies is needed for construction of arctic tankers, Igor Tonkovidov, Deputy Director General of Sovcomflot, said.
Following the meeting it was decided to create a working group for a feasibility study on stage-by-stage localization of gas carriers construction headed by the Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation A. Rakhmanov. Besides, it is necessary to measure the possibilities of the domestic production of marine engines, hulls and components of vessels.
Sovcomflot OJSC is one of the largest customers in Russian civil shipbuilding. When implementing its shipbuilding programme the company puts the priority on cooperation with domestic shipbuilding companies. SCF Group has accumulated vast experience in construction of conventional and unique hi-tech vessels at the facilities of Russian shipyards and their foreign partners. Recent years have seen the company purchase from Russian shipyards 16 vessels totally valued at some $1 bln. In particular, Admiralty Shipyards OJSC (Saint-Petersburg) have built Arctic-class shuttle tankers Mikhail Ulyanov and Kirill Lavrov which are to be deployed for Prirazlomnoye project in the nearest future being one of the most technologically advanced civil vessels in Russia. Another successful project is the construction of state-of-the-art icebreaking support vessels by the joint venture of the United Shipbuilding Corporation and Arctech shipyard (Helsinki). As a Russian ship owner, Sovcomflot is willing to put more priority on ordering vessels at domestic shipyards as well as to facilitate the transfer of the world’ latest technologies to Russian shipbuilding.
