Sovcomflot and Gazprom Neft have agreed to work together on LNG fuel bunkering, the companies announced Friday afternoon.
The two partially state-owned companies announced the deal at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum — the same day Sovcomflot secured financing for three LNG-fueled MR tankers and announced an LNG carrier joint venture with Chinese Cosco Shipping.
Details on the agreement were scant, but the companies said it "reinforces the mutual interest of both parties" in fueling Sovcomflot's ships.
"Sovcomflot has been systematically working on switching its tanker fleet to LNG fuel for a number of years," said Igor Tonkovidov, chief operating and technical officer at Sovcomflot.
"We welcome the opportunity to expand cooperation with Gazprom Neft in this area, combining the efforts of our companies to introduce advanced environmental standards into the Russian shipping sector."
The financing deal sees Sovcomflot tap VEB.RF to pay for a trio of 51,000-dwt tankers to be delivered in 2022 and 2023 from Russia's Zvezda Shipyard.
The deal with Cosco creates Maritime Arctic Transportation alongside Novatek and China's Silk Road Fund. The outfit will manage new and existing icebreaking gas carriers for Novatek's LNG projects.
