Samsung mulls jv with Russia

Samsung Heavy Industries and the Russian government are proposing to establish a joint venture for an ice-breaking oil tanker business.

Samsung is already building three 70,000 DWT ice-breaking oil tankers for Russia’s largest state-owned shipping company Sovcomflot, scheduled to be delivered to by the end of 2007.

Ice-breaking tankers are considered a prerequisite for safe crude oil transportation regardless of weather. Given the development of the oil fields in the Arctic Ocean in Russia which is estimated to contain one-third of the world’s crude oil deposits, around 38 ice-breaking oil tankers are expected to be built by 2015, according to Samsung.