24.02.2009 The Russian company Sovkomflot received a new ice class shuttle tanker to be used between the oil terminal Varandey and Murmansk.
The 70 000 ton tanker Timofey Guzhenko was launched on February, 19 at a ceremony at the Korean ship yard Samsung Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. Sovkomflot writes in a press release.
The tanker is the last in a series of three enhanced ice-class tankers, designed to transport oil from the Arctic oil field Varandey. The tanker will be registered in the Russian International Ships Register with St. Petersburg being its port of registry and will fly the Russian Federation flag.
The two other ships Vasily Dinkov and Kapitan Gotsky were delivered last year.
The Arctic shuttle tankers of the Vasily Dinkov class incorporate the most advanced and unique technical features, making it possible to operate the ships in temperatures of minus 40°C, breaking ice of up to 1.5 meters thick without icebreaker escort.
Similar tankers – Kirill Lavrov and Mikhail Ulyanov – designed to ship oil from the Arctic oil field Prirazlomnoye, have also been ordered by the Sovkomflot Group. These are being constructed in St. Petersburg at the Admiralty Shipyards.
Sovcomflot Group is Russia’s largest shipping company and a top five global tanker company. Its fleet comprises 132 vessels with a total deadweight of 9.39 million dwt.