Sovcomflot Advances Green Shipping Along The Northern Sea Route
Mendeleev Prospect and Lomonosov Prospect, the two Sovcomflot tankers that have a large capacity and use LNG as a primary fuel has completed voyages eastbound along the Northern Sea Route successfully.
At 05:50 Moscow time on the 16th of October 2019, the Lomonosov Prospect reached the easternmost end of the NSR, Cape Dezhnev. On the 19th of October 2019, at 13:00 Moscow time, the Mendeleev Prospect also reached there.
Both the ships are bound to China from the Port of Primorsk. They have a cargo of crude oil and have crossed the complete length of the NSR by using clean burning fuel.
The voyage from Cape Zhelaniya to Cape Dezhnev, a total distance of 2,095 nautical miles, was covered by the Lomonosov Prospect in u days and 20 hours at an average speed of 12 knots. The same voyage was completely by Mendeleev Prospect in 7 days and 5 hours where it covered a distance of 2,104 miles at an average speed of 12.3 knots. Due the availability of favourable ice conditions, both the vessels were able to complete the entire length of the NSR without icebreaker escort.
“t is gratifying to emphasize that there is an ongoing demand for cargo transit along the Northern Sea Route during the period of summer navigation. Using LNG fuel allows for a significant reduction of the tanker’s emission footprint, which is critical given the fragility of Arctic ecosystem,” noted Igor Tonkovidov, CEO of Sovcomflot.
“The transit voyage from Cape Zhelaniya to Cape Dezhnev went smoothly. While in passage along the high-latitude route, the tanker ran exclusively on LNG. The tanker fuel system and other components have proved to be highly reliable. I would also like to highlight the exceptional training and skills of the crew. Special thanks to Sovcomflot onshore personnel who provided all the necessary navigation data and other information to the tanker crew and ensured its safe voyage while running on LNG,” said Mark Lyudnik, the Master of Mendeleev Prospect.
Large capacity ships that use LNG as a fuel will be introduced by Sovcomflot in the Arctic. The NSR westbound was crossed by Lomonosov Prospect in October 2018 where it successfully tested the ship engines Opera and controls of the fuel system by LNG as a fuel in the voyage. Three LNG fuelled tanked of Sovcomflot crosses the NSR eastbound and one westbound in 2019.
At present, there are six LNG fuelled oil tankers of Sovcomflot in operation that were delivered in 2018-19. Gagarin Prospect being the lead ship of the series. Every 113,000 dwt tanker has an ice class of 1A/1B and the length of 250 metres and 44 metres as it’s breadth.
Reference: sovcomflot
