Fluxys: first Arctic LNG carrier docks at Zeebrugge

The world’s first ice class LNG carrier, Christophe de Margerie has docked at the Zeebrugge LNG terminal for a series of scheduled operations.

The vessel, built at the South Korean Daewoo Shipbuilding Marine Engineering (DSME), will be serving the Yamal LNG production terminal under construction in North Siberia.

The vessel was recently completed at the yard and has moored at the Zeebrugge LNG terminal during its maiden trip for cooling down its cargo tanks and loading a small volume of LNG among other things, according to Fluxys statement.

The carrier will continue its sea trials afterward, setting sail to the Yamal peninsula in Siberia to undertake an ice performance testing program.

Fluxys added that this would not be the vessel’s only call at the Zeebrugge LNG terminal. The vessel will be deployed to serve the 20-year contract signed by Yamal Trade, a unit of Yamal LNG, and Fluxys LNG for transshipment of up to 8 million tons of LNG per year at the port of Zeebrugge, Belgium, to support year-round LNG deliveries from the Yamal Peninsula to Asian-Pacific markets.

Currently, a 5th LNG storage tank and additional process facilities are under construction at the Zeebrugge LNG terminal to provide these services.

The vessel has been designed and built for the Yamal LNG project to perform year-round navigation through the Arctic to its destination markets. The vessel icebreaking ability allowing it to proceed through ice up to 2.1 m thick.

A fleet of 15 similar vessels will be serving the Yamal LNG production terminal and will call on a regular basis at the Zeebrugge LNG terminal to perform transshipment operations to conventional LNG carriers for further redelivery to destinations including Asia.