VLADIMIR RUSANOV

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Arctic Sea Route Opens For Yamal LNG Cargo

(Reuters) – A liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker carrying a cargo from the Yamal LNG plant has spent this week making its way through Arctic waters north of Russia towards Asia, marking the first voyage of the 2019 summer season across the Northern Sea Route. The Vladimir Rusanov, an Arc7-classed LNG tanker that can plough through semi-cleared waters, left the Sabetta port on June 29 and is in the Chukchi Sea close to the Bering Strait, Refinitiv Eikon shipping data showed on Friday. The route is frozen for most of the year but is being increasingly used during the summer as ice clears quicker and for longer as the climate changes. Vessels are now able to cross the route without the use of ice-breakers to clear their path.

Icebreaking LNG carrier "Vladimir Rusanov" first call ceremony at PetroChina LNG Jiangsu Terminal

The Ice-breaking LNG carrier "Vladimir Rusanov", which is jointly owned by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) and China COSCO Shipping Corporation Limited for the Yamal LNG project, made its first call at PetroChina LNG Jiangsu Terminal in China on 17 July. A ceremony celebrating this milestone was held on 19 July, MOL said in a media release. At the end of March 2018, the vessel started transportation services for LNG produced by the Yamal LNG plant at Sabetta port in Russia (*2). For its latest voyage, the vessel departed from Sabetta port on 25 June, and had its first opportunity to navigate independently eastwards along the Northern Sea Route without ice-breaker support. The vessel passed the Bering Strait on 6 July(*3), and safely made its first call at PetroChina LNG Jiangsu Terminal in China on 17 July. The net voyage time from Sabetta to Jiangsu excluding stoppages for adjusting arrival time was 19 days only - much shorter than time usually taken for a route through Suez Canal, that is, more than a month. This voyage also marked the first direct LNG delivery to China for the Yamal LNG Project.

LNG carriers are completing the Northern Sea Route passage

PAO NOVATEK announced that two Arc7 ice-class LNG tankers “Vladimir Rusanov” and “Eduard Toll” are completing the Northern Sea Route passage via the Eastern direction. The “Vladimir Rusanov” passed the Northern Sea Route and arrived at the Bering Strait, while the “Eduard Toll” entered open water in the Chukchi Sea. Both tankers were dispatched from the port of Sabetta loaded with cargos of LNG produced by the Company’s Yamal LNG project and are now heading towards the Chinese port of Jiangsu Rudong. The ice-covered part of the route was passed in only 9 days with no ice-breaking support, thus confirming the outstanding ice-breaking capabilities of the Arc7 ice-class vessels.