Russia’s Sovcomflot eyes two new LNG carriers

Under the plan, the new vessels will be fitted with a tri-fuel engine and have a cargo capacity of 170,000m³, the company said in a statement. The Atlanticmax Ice2 (1C) carriers are designed to operate on long-term contracts with the Shell Group. Each vessel has a length of some 299.9m.

“This deal represents a major milestone for the company in 2014 and serves to demonstrate its continued access to the international financial markets,” said Nikolai Kolesnikov, senior executive vice-president and CFO at Sovcomflot.

The credit facility is for a period of 10 years, the statement said.

The Russian firm says that the vessels’ design is optimised to provide the utmost trading flexibility to charterers, as the carriers will be capable of transporting LNG year round to and from most of the world’s existing LNG terminals.

Headquartered in Saint-Petersburg, Russia, Sovcomflot says it operates a fleet consisting of 152 vessels with an aggregate of 12.64 million dwt. The company says it specialises in shipping crude oil, LNG and various refined petroleum products.