Russia's first LNG bunkering vessel passes sea trials
Russia's first LNG bunkering vessel has passed its sea trials ahead of starting operations in the ports of the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea in the second half of the year, operator Gazprom Neft reported May 28.
The 5,800-m3 Dmitry Medvedev has had its main propulsion, navigation and control systems tested and next its systems for loading, storing and unloading LNG will be tested. The vessel, 100 m long and 19 m wide, has a reinforced Arc4 ice-class hull, allowing it to navigate first-year ice up to 0.8 m thick unassisted. It will refuel ships in in the Russian ports of St Petersburg, Ust-Luga and Primorsk.
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Gazprom Neft already has extensive marine bunkering operations offered at 37 ports worldwide, with its fuel sales volumes coming to around 3mn metric tons/year. It wants to leverage its existing bunkering capabilities to make a foray into LNG bunkering, which has seen a surge in popularity in north Europe since the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) imposed stricter rules on marine fuel pollutants last year.