Russia's Sovcomflot Receives New LNGC
Russian state shipping firm Sovcomflot (SCF) has taken delivery of the 174,000-m3 SCF Timmerman LNG carrier (LNGC), the company said on January 15, noting that the vessel had embarked on its maiden commercial voyage under a contract with trading giant Anglo-Dutch Shell.
SCF Timmerman is the third vessel to be delivered in a series of new-generation Atlanticmax LNG carriers ordered by SCF at South Korea's Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries shipyard in 2018. The first, SCF La Perouse, was delivered in February 2020 and was chartered to France's Total, while the second, SCF Barents, arrived in September that year and was chartered to Shell.
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The vessels are equipped with advanced Mark III Flex cargo containment systems, slow-speed dual-fuel X-DF engines, and systems that reduce nitrogen oxide emissions while they sail in liquid fuel mode. They are also among the first globally to feature boil-off gas partial re-liquefaction systems, which reduce cargo losses.
The latest delivery means SCF now has a fleet of 16 LNGCs in operation and a further 15 under development. Shell is among the main charterers of its vessels.
"By adding another vessel to our gas fleet and expanding our co-operation with Shell, we contribute to achieving our strategic goals of solidifying our position in LNG shipping and growing our portfolio of long-term, fixed-income contracts, which provide SCF with stable cash flows resistant to freight market fluctuations," Sovcomflot CEO Igor Tonkovido said. LNGC charter rates have been extremely high this past month or so as suppliers have rushed to deliver LNG to thirsty markets in Asia. Delivered prices there have been been at least $30/mn Btu.
(banner image courtesy of Sovcomflot)