Yamal Project’s First Ice-going LNG Carrier Launched
The first of 15 ice-going LNG carriers for the Yamal project has been launched and is set to sail the arctic waters from Siberia to Europe and Asia.
Built by Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) in its Okpo South Korea yard, the new vessel, SCF Yamal, features three azimuthing thrusters from ABB and has been labeled the world’s most powerful LNG carrier.
Booked in the first quarter of 2014, ABB secured the contract to supply electrical power and propulsion systems for the vessels, which will be built to ice-breaking capability of ARC 7 in order to safely transport LNG from the Yamal peninsula, which is located inside the Arctic Circle and locked in ice for most of the year.
The newly launched ship, SCF Yamal, will be prepared for commissioning startup of the ABB equipment from the beginning of March. In addition to the azipod propulsion units to power the vessels through the arctic conditions, ABB will supply turbochargers, generators, switchboards, transformers, electric drives and propulsion control.
A consortium of partners led by Russian gas producer Novatek have signed on the $15 billion Yamal project to open up gas from the Yamal peninsula in Northwest Siberia to Asia and Europe.
The 170,000-cubic-meter LNG carriers for Sovcomflot (one), MOL (three), Teekay (six) and Dynagas (five) are all due to be delivered over the next four years.