Ulsan (Republic of Korea), 4 July 2013. А naming ceremony was held at the Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co. Ltd. shipyard in South Korea for the first two vessels in a new series of LPG carriers (liquefied petroleum gas) ordered by Sovcomflot Group, to operate on long-term contracts with the petrochemical holding company SIBUR. The carriers will serve to transport LPG from SIBUR’s LPG and light oils transhipment terminal at the Ust-Luga commercial sea port.

The ceremony was attended by: Natalia Komarova – Governor of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Area; Sergey Frank – President and CEO of OAO Sovcomflot; Leonid Mikhelson – Chairman of the Board of Directors of OAO SIBUR Holding and Chairman of the Executive Board of OAO NOVATEK; Dmitry Konov – CEO of OOO SIBUR; and representatives of the shipyard, banks and classification societies – Britain’s Lloyd’s Register and the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping.

In 2012, Sovcomflot and SIBUR signed a long-term agreement for the charter of two gas carriers to provide regular transportation of liquefied petroleum gas all year round. In 2013, SIBUR will start exporting LPG via its own terminal at the sea port of Ust-Luga.

The gas carriers have been named after the Russian rivers Voronezh and Tobol – situated in the regions where SIBUR has its operations.

The new LPG carriers were designed in collaboration with SCF Group experts, to SIBUR’s requirements, and are equipped with the latest advanced shipbuilding technology. The cargo-pumping system consists of four type-C tanks, with a combined capacity of 20,600 m³, capable of transporting cargo under a pressure of 540kPa.

The structural design of the vessels includes: a ballast water treatment system, a requirement for all vessels since 2013, and a reinforced hull for non-stop year-round operations in the North Atlantic with an active service life of 25 years, significantly longer if the vessels are used in normal conditions. The design of these 1B ice class vessels (Ice3 in the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping) will allow them to operate effectively in the low temperatures of the Baltic Sea, during their winter voyages.

Navigation equipment and software from Russian manufacturers was used in the construction of these vessels.

The new vessels are due to be delivered to SCF in August-September of this year.

Technical characteristics of the vessels:

Length: 159m
Beam size: 25.60m
Depth: 16.40m
Estimated draught: 10.90m
Deadweight: 22,760 tonnes
Propulsion engine power: 7,780kw

Additional information

LNG and LPG shipping is a strategic priority segment for OAO Sovcomflot, which is reflected in SCF’s development strategy-2017. The Sovcomflot gas carrier fleetcurrentlyincludes eight vessels: six LNG (liquefied natural gas) carriers and two LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) carriers. SCF Group’s shipbuilding programme provides for the addition of a further six vessels – expanding the company’s gas fleet to 16 tankers. SCF’s gas carriers operate on long-term contracts with well-known gas companies and projects, such as: Sakhalin Energy; Tangguh; Gas Natural; Transammonia, and others. All of the vessels currently under construction have already been assigned to operations on long-term agreements with the world’s largest gas companies – Gazprom Global LNG, Shell and SIBUR. The company’s longstanding experience of oil & gas shipping in challenging, ice conditions means SCF can offer effective year-round LNG transportation solutions for even the most complex projects, including the new Arctic projects on Russia’s continental shelf.

Sovcomflot Group (SCF) is Russia’s largest shipping company. It is a world leader in the maritime transportation of hydrocarbons and provides support for shelf exploration and oil & gas production. The SCF fleet (owned and chartered) includes 160 vessels with a combined deadweight of over 12 million tonnes. It specialises in the transportation of hydrocarbons from areas with challenging icy conditions and a third of the fleet’s vessels have a high ice class. Sovcomflot supports large-scale offshore energy projects in Russia and the rest of the world, including: Sakhalin-I, Sakhalin-II, Varandey, Tangguh, Escobar, and Peregrino. The company is registered in Saint-Petersburg and has representative offices in: Moscow; Novorossiysk; Murmansk; Vladivostok; London; Limassol; Madrid; Singapore and Dubai. www.scf-group.ru

On 19 June 2013, a formal ceremony was hosted at the Ust-Luga commercial sea port to mark the first loading of a gas carrier with liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) at SIBUR's new transhipment facility for LPG and light oils. SIBUR's Ust-Luga terminal is the largest in the CIS and the first in Northwest Russia to tranship LPG. The terminal is capable of handling up to 1.5 million tonnes of LPG and up to 2.5 million tonnes of light oils each year. The terminal’s distinguishing feature is its isothermal LPG storage tanks and its compatibility with almost all existing vessels, including refrigerated ships. The terminal’s location offers excellent access to the Northwest European markets.

SIBUR (www.sibur.com) is a uniquely positioned vertically integrated gas processing and petrochemicals company. SIBUR owns and operates Russia’s largest gas processing business in terms of associated petroleum gas processing volumes, and is a leader in the Russian petrochemicals industry.

As of 31 March 2013, SIBUR operated 27 production sites across Russia, had over 1,500 large customers operating in the energy, automotive, construction, fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), chemical and other industries in approximately 60 countries and employed over 30,000 personnel.