Sovcomflot’s profit slides

Russia’s largest shipping company Sovcomflot posted a 41.7 percent drop in net profit for the year 2016 that was market by market volatility. 

The company reported a US$206.8 million net profit dropping from $354.5 million in 2015.

Speaking of the results, Sergey Frank, Sovcomflot’s president and CEO said 2016 tested the industry with a “material softening in demand that impacted negatively spot tanker freight rates, albeit with some respite in the final quarter.”

Sovcomflot’s gross revenue (freight and hire) dropped 6.4 percent from 1.48 billion in 2015 to 1.38 billion in 2016.

Sovcomflot reminded that in January 2016, the world’s first Arctic LNG carrier, named Christophe de Margerie, was launched. The vessel with a cargo capacity of 172,600 cubic meters is the prototype for a series of 16 Arctic LNG carriers and will be the first to load at the Port of Sabetta on the Yamal peninsula providing start-up work for the Yamal LNG project.

Currently, Sovcomflot’s fleet includes eight LNG carriers and four LPG tankers that serve charterers such as Gazprom Marketing & Trading, Sakhalin Energy, Shell, Tangguh LNG, Trammo, and Sibur.