Sovcomflot orders three more vessels from Arctech Helsinki

AUGUST 11, 2014 — Finland’s Arctech Helsinki Shipyard has won a contract worth some $380 million to building of three icebreaking stand-by vessels for Russia’s largest shipping company Sovcomflot. They will be built for the North East Sakhalin Offshore region oil and gas field where they will serve the operator of Sakhalin-2, Sakhalin Energy Investment Company Ltd. (SEIC). The contract was made in May 2014 and the total value of the order is about USD 380 million.

Designing of the vessels will start immediately and they are set for delivery between September 2016 and March 2017.

The vessels are designed for stand-by and rescue duties and for oil spill recovery. They can also be used as supply vessels for cargo transfer, for example low flashpoint fuels.

Measuring 95 m in length and 22 m in breadth and with accommodations for 98 people, the vessels and are based on the Aker Arctic Technology ARC 121 concept. The four diesel generator engines have a total power of about 20,000 kW and the propulsion power of the vessel is 13,000 kW.

The contract follows an April order from Sovcomflot for an icebreaking supply vessel measuring 100 m in length and 21 m in breadth.

“We are extremely satisfied to receive an order of three arctic offshore vessels from Sovcomflot. This remarkable order of one + three vessels brings a lot of work to our shipyard and to the whole maritime cluster. We will also strengthen our organization considerably,” says Esko Mustamäki, Managing Director of Arctech Helsinki Shipyard.

The vessels will be operating in thick drifting ice for ice management and icebreaking in temperatures as cold as minus 35 C°. The icebreaking capability of the stand-by vessels is extremely high; the vessels are able to proceed independently in 1.5 meter thick ice. The vessels will be outfitted for emergency evacuation, fire fighting operations and helicopter operations. The vessels can also act as diving support vessel as they are outfitted with a moon pool.

Arctech Helsinki shipyard is 50% owned by STX Finland and Russia’s United Shipbuilding Corporation.