Sovcomflot to operate Rosneft’s LNG-fueled Aframax tankers

Russia’s largest shipping company Sovcomflot will operate Rosneft’s five LNG-fueled Aframax tankers to be built by Zvezda shipyard. 

Sovcomflot secured the operatorship through contracts signed between Sovcomflot, Rosneft the State Transport Leasing Company (STLC), and Zvezda Shipbuilding Complex, entailing the construction of large-capacity oil tankers to ship crude oil and oil products.

The 114,000-dwt vessels will be built by Zvezda jointly with Hyundai Heavy Industries, Zvezda’s technology partner.

The tankers will have an ice class of 1A/1B, sufficient to ensure safe year-round operations in regions with challenging ice conditions, including the Baltic Sea and subarctic seas. They are purpose-designed to use LNG as their primary fuel, Sovcomflot said.

SCF will operate all the tankers, first supervising their construction and then providing a range of management services.

The new vessels are due to enter service beginning from 2021.