Sovcomflot Holds Naming Ceremony for Its Newbuild VLCC

On 7 November 2013 a naming ceremony took place for Svet, the first VLCC (Very Large Crude Carrier) in the Russian merchant fleet. The 320,000 tonnes deadweight tanker was constructed at the Bohai Shipbuilding Heavy Industry shipyard (Huludao, China) and is the first in a series of vessels of this type ordered by SCF Group (Sovcomflot) for transporting large quantities of oil internationally. Currently, it is not possible to construct this class of vessels in Russia.

SCF is one of the world leaders in the Aframax and Suezmax segments of the tanker market. With the construction of two new VLCC tankers, Svet and SCF Shanghai, the company enters into the new VLCC market segment (i.e. vessels of deadweight approximately 200,000 to 320,000 tonnes), which is part of the Group’s current strategy.

This vessel meets all the national and international safety requirements of the Norwegian classification society Det Norske Veritas and can be operated without any restrictions (e.g. regarding environmental safety regulations) in respect of the navigation area in which she can operate.

The tanker Svet will be operated under a long-term charter agreement, involving the transportation of crude oil, with PetroChina International (a subsidiary of the China National Petroleum Corporation CNPC, which is one of the largest oil corporations in the world). In December 2011, Sovcomflot and PetroChina signed the relevant agreements that, in particular, provided for oil transportation by SCF Group vessels from the Middle East, West Africa and Venezuela to China.

The tanker Svet will enter service in the second half of this month. Supervision of the construction of the vessel and its technical management is the responsibility of specialists from ÎÀÎ Novoship (a part of SCF Group).

The ship is named in honour of the first Russian, and one of the world’s first, oil tankers – the Svet, with a deadweight of 1,700 tonnes. This tanker was built in 1885 by order of the Nobel Brothers Company and was used to transport oil and kerosene for export to the Black Sea and the Mediterranean basin. The ship was 89.5 metres long and 11.6 metres wide, the sailing rig was 240 square metres, and the maximum speed of the tanker under full sail was 7.5 knots. The crew of the first Black Sea tanker consisted of 50 sailors.

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SCF Group, November 18, 2013