NSRA: Boris Vilkitsky LNG carrier breaks Northern Sea Route rules

Boris Vilkitsky, the Arc7 ice-class LNG carrier, recently violated a number of safety rules on its voyage to the port of Sabetta, Russian Northern Sea Route Administration (NSRA) said.

According to a report by the NSRA, citing data from the Bureau Veritas classification society, the vessel jointly owned by Dynagas LNG, Sinotrans and China LNG Shipping, had inoperable stern thrusters and port steering column.

Due to the malfunction that occurred on or before March 30, the vessel’s ice classification dropped from Arc7 to Arc4, meaning it was prohibited from entering the Northern Sea Route and the Kara Sea independently or even escorted by an icebreaker.

NSRA stressed the Boris Vilkitsky’s entrance into the Kara Sea under the ice conditions reported at the end of March posed a threat to navigation safety and the marine environment.

Roshydromet, the Russian Federal service for hydrometeorology and environmental monitoring, reported medium to heavy ice conditions with ice up to 2 meters thick since March 23, meaning the vessel master was aware of these when entering the Kara Sea on April 9.

In addition, NSRA noted that no information was received by the vessel master, which was another violation of the rules of navigation in the Northern Sea Route waters.

The 172.410-cbm Boris Vilkitsky built by the South Korean shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding Marine Engineering (DSME) is one of five Arc7 ice-class vessels built by the joint venture, and one of a total of 15 Arctic LNG carriers chartered by the Yamal LNG project.

LNG World News Staff