SCF's New Icebreaker Named Fedor Ushakov
Russia’s PAO Sovcomflot (SCF Group) currently operates 10 vessels that serve the Sakhalin-2 project, including three oil tankers, two liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers and five icebreaking supply and standby vessels.
Its latest addition to this specialized fleet, a newly built multifunctional icebreaking standby vessel (IBSBV), was formally named Fedor Ushakov at a ceremony on October 11.
The vessel is the third in a series of four IBSBVs purpose-designed for operating in the ice conditions of the Sea of Okhotsk and commissioned by SCF Group under a long-term agreement with Sakhalin-2 project operator Sakhalin Energy. Two of these vessels, Gennadiy Nevelskoy and Stepan Makarov, were delivered in the spring and summer of 2017 respectively.
Construction of the four vessels was contracted to United Shipbuilding Corporation, with construction carried out by its subsidiary Arctech Helsinki Shipyard. The Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RS) is providing technical supervision during the construction of all four vessels.
SCF said the vessels’ design and equipment allows them to ensure the safety of Sakhalin-2’s personnel, employed at three offshore production platforms and provide a rapid response to emergency situations throughout the year.
Principal parameters
Length: 99.9m
Breadth: 21.6m
Draught: 7.6m
Deadweight: 3,824 t
Ice class: Icebreaker6
Fedor Ushakov is home ported in Saint Petersburg and is registered under the Russian flag. The all-Russian crew numbers 28.
The vessel is named after Admiral Fedor Ushakov (1745–1817), a Russian naval commander who did not suffer a single defeat throughout his entire career and was instrumental in the founding of the Port of Sevastopol and the development of Russia’s Black Sea fleet. In 2004, Ushakov was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church.
The vessel naming ceremony was attended by: Igor Tonkovidov, Executive Vice-President and Technical Director of Sovcomflot; Paul Eykhout, Offshore Asset Manager at Sakhalin Energy; and Alexey Rakhmanov, President of United Shipbuilding Corporation. The ceremony was also attended by representatives of the Admiral Ushakov Maritime State University (AUMSU). The vessel’s godmother is Tatyana Timchenko, Ph.D. in Economics, Vice-Rector of AUMSU, Associate Professor at the Organisation of Transportation and Transport Management Department, Head of the Customs Law Department. Also present at the ceremony was Viktor Pushkarev, a fourth-year Mechanical Engineering student at AUMSU.