LNG exporters will have an opportunity to deploy foreign-flagged vessels to transport gas along the Northern Sea Route before Russian-built LNG tankers are built, RF Vice Premier Dmitry Kozak told the media.
‘We have agreed that the conditions for the LNG business should be adjusted so they could deploy foreign-flagged vessels on the RF territory during the interim period until the market is saturated and LNG tankers are built’, RIA Novosti quotes D.Kozak as saying.
He said that the Ministry of energy, the Ministry of transport, the Ministry of industry and trade and the companies involved have been given am assignment to study the question and define how long this interim period should be.
D.Kozak admitted that at present it is quite obvious that it is impossible to ban all foreign-flagged tankers from the Northern Sea Route since January 1, 2019 as it was proposed.
The interim period should not be too long, but not too short, he added.
Earlier, Vice Premier Yury Borisov said that certain types of foreign built vessels will be allowed to operate on the Northern Sea Route for some time after the ban comes into force.