USC to build Aframax series tankers for Sovcomflot
State-owned shipbuilding conglomerate United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC), and Russian shipping giant PAO Sovcomflot (SCF Group) have signed a cooperation agreement which includes the construction of a series of ECO Aframax tankers, the shipbuilding group said in a press release.
The tankers order will reportedly be placed with the USC's St. Petersburg based Severnaya Verf Shipyard, which is undergoing large-scale modernization.
Two days ago the USC commenced the construction of the state-of-the-art shipbuilding complex at Severnaya Verf Shipyard, scheduled to be launched in 2018.
"This project is the next element of the new policy of the United Shipbuilding Corporation and, accordingly, the new production capacity. We hope to see a multiple production increase as a result of the Severnaya Verf capacity. We expect that the yard will have a dual purpose, and will be successfully building large tonnage commercial ships," USC President Alexey Rakhmanov said at the ground-breaking ceremony.
Executive Vice-President, Technical Director, SCF Group Igor Tonkovidov who attended the ceremony, commented: "SCF welcomes the new production facilities at Russian shipyards, which will allow Russian shipbuilders to build vessels using high technology which provides for new better environmental protection methods, reduction in energy consumption and emissions. This opens up new opportunities and removes constraints that existed previously during the construction of large-tonnage vessels."
The agreement signed with Russia's largest shipping company will enable USC to enter into a new market segment and for Sovcomflot to continue the fleet upgrade program, taking into account stringent environmental requirements in the Baltic.
United Shipbuilding Corporation was founded in 2007 as a 100-percent state-owned group of companies by the Presidential Decree № 394 (March 21, 2007). Currently, the USC consolidates about 80% of the domestic shipbuilding industry and incorporates three regional shipbuilding centers, nine engineering and design offices and 39 dockyards. The Corp’s largest shipbuilding assets include Kaliningrad-based JSC Yantar Shipyard, JSC Admiralty Shipyards (St. Petersburg), JSC PA Sevmash (Severodvinsk), JSC DVZ Zvezda (Vladivostok) and Baltic Shipyard Besides, UCS holds a 50% stake in Arctech Helsinki Shipyard, a joint venture with STX Finland Cruise Oy. The Group builds ships for Russian customers and exports its products to 20 countries.
Sovcomflot Group (SCF) is Russia's largest shipping company and one of the world’s leading shipping companies in the field of maritime transport of hydrocarbons and services for offshore oil and gas exploration and production. Its fleet specializing in hydrocarbon transportation, including from regions with challenging icy conditions, comprises 143 vessels with a combined deadweight of about 12.4 million tonnes. A third of these vessels have a high ice class. Sovcomflot supports large energy projects in Russia and around the world: Sakhalin-1, Sakhalin-2, Varandey, Prirazlomnoye, Novy Port, Yamal LNG, Tangguh, and Peregrino. The company is headquartered in Saint Petersburg with representative offices in Moscow, Novorossiysk, Murmansk, Vladivostok, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, London, Limassol, Madrid, Singapore and Dubai.
