Russian shipowner Sovcomflot and energy company Novatek's joint venture Smart LNG has signed financing and time-charter agreements for a quartet of ice-breaking LNG carriers for the Arctic LNG 2 project.
Smart LNG inked a lease financing deal with VEB.RF Group on the four newbuildings.
The joint venture also signed long-term time charter agreements for these vessels with Novatek-led Arctic LNG 2.
Smart said the vessels will be constructed at Zvezda Shipbuilding Complex in the Russian Far East. Zvezda is working on the LNG ships' construction with South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries.
The vessels will be operated under the Russian Federation flag. The Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RS) will provide technical supervision during the construction of the vessel series.
This is the second batch of specialised LNG carriers for Arctic LNG 2 which is expected to require at least 15 LNG carriers for its planned 19.8 million tonnes per annum of exports.
In October Sovcomflot (SCF Group) signed financing and long-term time charter agreements for the first vessel in this series.
Smart said the design of these five vessels has incorporated experience from operating Sovcomflot's 172,600-cbm Christophe de Margerie (built 2017), which was the first of 15 Arc7 LNG carriers constructed for Novatek's Yamal LNG project.
"This led to the integration of various advanced engineering solutions into the design," Smart said.
"These will provide the new ships with higher icebreaking capabilities and maneuverability, when operating in the challenging conditions across both the Western and the Eastern sectors of the Russian Arctic, compared with Arc7 gas carriers serving the Yamal LNG project."
Smart LNG was set up in September to own and operate the LNG carriers for Arctic LNG 2 along with vessels for existing and other Novatek projects.
