The vessels constructed by the Russian shipyard will be deployed in the Russian Arctic for the Novatek-led Arctic LNG 2 programme.

A total of 15 Arctic LNG carriers will be built by Zvezda, with another six to be supplied by South Korean shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME).

Zvezda stressed that this is the first time that carriers of liquefied natural gas have been installed in Russia.

LNG carriers of the Zhe ice-class ARC 7 are able to work in harsh environments. The vessels will be able to hold up to 172,600 cubic meters of chilled fuel in tanks constructed by GTT.

Every vessel will have a length of 300 meters and a width of 48.8 meters and will use LNG as the main fuel.

The gas carrier design makes it possible to split ice more than 2 meters thick independently.

Zvezda noted that VEB.RF has provided support for the 15-strong LNG carrier fleet.

The French LNG containment specialist GTT stated in an earlier statement that delivery of the vessels is planned for the second half of 2024 and the end of 2025.

Maritime Business World