Russia’s Sovcomflot in LNG fuel push

Russia’s largest shipping company Sovcomflot and the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment on Wednesday signed an agreement on the development of long-term cooperation, including LNG as fuel, in the Russian Arctic zone.

The document was signed by Sergey Frank, President and CEO of Sovcomflot, and Dmitry Kobylkin, Russian Minister of Natural Resources and Environment in Vladivostok.

“The agreement, in particular, provides for the development of proposals for the implementation of comprehensive measures to stimulate the use of new environmentally friendly types of marine fuel, primarily LNG,” Sovcomflot said in its statement.

Ii also includes the development of other “green technologies,” as well as information exchange and joint activities to prevent substandard navigation in the Arctic seas.

“Strengthening the interaction between business and government agencies to protect the fragile environment of the Arctic is becoming critically important amidst increasing traffic along the Northern Sea Route,” Frank said in the statement.

Worth mentioning here, Sovcoflot ordered earlier this week two LNG-fuelled aframax tankers at the new Zvezda Shipbuilding Complex in a push to reduce emissions.

The vessels will have a deadweight of 114,000 tonnes and a 1A/1B ice class, which makes them able to operate all year round in areas with difficult ice conditions, including sub-Arctic seas and Russian ports of the Baltic region.