VIDEO: MOL ARC7 icebreaking LNG carrier goes to work at Yamal

MARCH 29, 2018 — Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) reports that the icebreaking LNG carrier Vladimir Rusanov has conducted its first loading operation at the Yamal LNG plant at Sabetta port in northern Russia.

Built to icebreaking class  ARC7, the ship is the first of three jointly ordered by MOL and China COSCO Shipping Corporation to operate under a long-term charter contract to transport LNG for the Yamal Project.

The vessel left Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering’s Okpo, South Korea, shipyard after her naming ceremony on Dec 21, 2017 and headed to the Arctic Ocean through the Suez Canal for Ice trials.

The ice trials took place over three weeks in the presence of MOL’s technical engineers and marine experts, charterer Yamal LNG, shipbuilder DSME, and the manufacturers of her main equipment. The vessel was handed over to the Yama; LNG project after the completion of the ice trials test of the vessel’s independent icebreaking capabilities in the Arctic Ocean.

Construction of the second and the third vessels for MOL and China COSCO Shipping at DSME has been progressing as originally planned, and they will be delivered to the Yamal LNG project after completion of their construction at the end of September 2018 and September 2019 respectively.

MOL notes that the Arctic holds an estimated 13% of the world’s undiscovered oil resources and 30% of its undiscovered natural gas resources, according to an assessment conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Investment in the next large LNG project near Russia’s Yamal Peninsula is expected, giving further momentum to stable resource procurement from the Arctic Ocean via the shorter Northern Sea Route, a significant benefit for Japan’s energy resource needs.

Specifications of Vladimir Rusanov

Length: 299.0 m
Breadth: 50.00 m
Draft: 12.00 m (at ice sea sailing)
LNG tank : Membrane type
Cargo tank capacity: 172,000 cu.m
Ice class/Specification: RMRS ARC7/Special specifications for Arctic environment
Icebreaker bow structure; 3-axis POD propeller aft structure
Max. ice breaking capacity: 2.1 m (when going astern)