Guangzhou Launches World's First Icebreaking LNG Tanker

The world's first liquid natural gas (LNG) carrier tanker was named 'Boris Sokolov' and delivered by Guangzhou Shipyard International in Guangzhou City.

According to Chinese state media, the Arctic condensate tanker carrier designed to traverse the world's icy northern polar region.

With a load capacity of 44,550 tons, the vessel, which is built for for Dynacom of Greece, can sail in the Arctic region without icebreaker-piloting, it said.

 The vessel is mainly used for transporting condensate oil for the Yamal LNG project in northwest Siberia, which is the largest LNG project in the world.

Boris Sokolov is designed to cope with the extreme cold of the Arctic, where the temperature can fall below minus 50 degrees. It meets the highest rating of ice-breaking ability, as defined by Russia's Maritime Register of Shipping. This means it can sail to and from the project at all times of the year.

The Arc7 ice class ship is named after Captain Sokolov who commanded the world’s first nuclear-powered icebreaker for almost 40 years, according to China Daily. The vessel is able to break ice layers 1.8m (6ft) thick, the newspaper reported.

In the coming days, the Boris Sokolov will join Dynacom Tankers Management’s fleet and begin its voyage from China to the Arctic along the Northern Sea Route.  

Earlier, in November, Novatek Gas and Power Asia Pte. Ltd., a subsidiary of the Russian gas producer Novatek, made the first delivery of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Yamal LNG project to the Chinese company China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC).