The first Russian LNG bunkering barge has been launched. The vessel is being built for Gazprom Neft. According to the company, the shipyard completed the main stage of the vessel construction including assembling the hull and installing LNG fuel tanks and other auxiliary systems, in record time.
The vessel has been moved to dock for final installation of navigation systems and controls, and installation of key equipment rooms. Sea trials are planned for spring 2021.
The LNG-bunkering vessel, named in honour of the great Russian chemist and researcher Dmitry Mendeleev, is to join Gazprom Neft’s fleet in the second half of 2021. This new vessel will provide transportation and bunkering of low-tonnage LNG fuel at ports in the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea — including St Petersburg, Ust-Luga and Primorsk.
Designing the Gazprom Neft LNG-bunkering vessel has involved cutting-edge shipbuilding and LNG storage and transportation technologies, with equipment being fully compliant with international MARPOL Convention standards and ECO-S environmental certification. The vessel has been designed on the basis of “zero emissions”, with its propulsion system fueled by LNG stripping-gas.