During the 4th Eastern Economic Forum, SCF Group signed a set of agreements with Rosneft, Zvezda Shipbuilding Complex and VEB Group, placing orders with Zvezda for a series of two next generation large-capacity Aframax tankers. VEB-Leasing will finance the construction of the tankers, whilst a subsequent 20-year time-charter for them has been agreed with Rosneft.
The ceremony of exchange of signed documents was participated by Sergey Frank, President and CEO of Sovcomflot; Igor Sechin, CEO, Chairman of the Management Board, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of Rosneft, and Artem Dovlatov, Acting Director General of VEB-Leasing.
According to Sovcomflot, the vessels will have a deadweight of 114,000 tons 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.
The technical specification of the tankers reflects the regulatory limits on sulphur, nitrogen and greenhouse gas emissions, which will come into effect for the Baltic and North Seas in 2020.
These next generation tankers, designed to operate on LNG fuel, provide for a low level of human impact on the environment.
Tankers fuelled by LNG significantly reduce emissions of harmful substances: sulphur oxides (SOx) by 100 per cent; nitrogen oxides (NOx) by 76 per cent and carbon dioxide (CO2) by 27 per cent, when compared with similar vessels operating on heavy fuel.
The technical specification of the vessels was designed by SCF’s specialists, who applied their vast experience of operating large-capacity tankers in adverse ice conditions, with the close involvement of the Far Eastern Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Centre and Hyundai Heavy Industries, a technological partner of Zvezda Shipbuilding Complex.