Gazprom Neft´s cargo and passenger ship-to-ship LNG-bunkering vessel set afloat

St.Petersburg, December 24 - Neftegaz.RU. Russia’s 1st cargo and passenger ship-to-ship LNG-bunkering vessel has been set afloat - shipyard specialists having completed the main stage in the vessel’s construction, including assembling the hull and installing LNG fuel tanks and other auxiliary systems, in record time.

Ship-to-ship bunkering involves ships being refueled directly from the deck of a specialist bunkering vessel. This technology means bunkering can be undertaken when ships are moored or docked at a pier.

The vessel has been moved to dock for final installation of navigation systems and controls, and installation of key equipment rooms. Sea trials are planned for spring 2021.

The LNG-bunkering vessel, named in honour of the great Russian chemist and researcher Dmitry Mendeleev, will join Gazprom Neft’s fleet in the second half of 2021. This new vessel will provide transportation and bunkering of low-tonnage LNG fuel at ports in the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea - incl. St Petersburg, Ust-Luga and Primorsk.



Anatoly Cherner, Deputy CEO for Logistics, Processing and Sales at Gazprom Neft noted: “Its environmental and performance characteristics are going to see LNG becoming one of the main motor fuels in the medium term, in considerable demand in international shipping."

He noted:

• Gazprom Neft was the 1st in Russia to initiate a project on building a LNG-powered vessel for bunkering
• This is a key stage in developing domestic eco-friendly shipping
• Completing the construction of the own high-tech LNG-bunkering vessel in 2021 will mark another major step forward here

Designing the Gazprom Neft LNG-bunkering vessel has involved cutting-edge shipbuilding and LNG storage and transportation technologies, with equipment being fully compliant with international MARPOL Convention standards and ECO-S environmental certification. The vessel has been designed on the basis of “zero emissions”, with its propulsion system fuelled by LNG stripping-gas.