SCF's New Icebreaker Named Gennadiy Nevelskoy

 

Built by Arctech Helsinki Shipyard, the Russian flagged Gennadiy Nevelskoy (deadweight 3,000 metric tons) will home port in Saint Petersburg and was commissioned by SCF under a long-term agreement with Sakhalin Energy. She is the first of four vessels for operations at the Sakhalin-2 project; the other three are ice-breaking standby vessels (IBSBVs) that have a smaller deadweight (2,000 metric tons), but offer enhanced functionality and a higher people-on-board capacity.

 

The agreement between Sovcomflot and Sakhalin Energy, signed in 2014, involves the operation of these four vessels for 20 years under the Sakhalin-2 project, one of the world’s largest integrated, export-oriented oil and gas projects. The vessels will be used for the year-round delivery of supplies and consumables to Sakhalin Energy's three offshore platforms in the Sea of Okhotsk, and for performing standby duty near the platforms. They will also be outfitted for integrated environmental protection and rescue operations.

 

All four ships are being built by Arctech in Helsinki, who holds overall responsibility for the vessels’ design, hull assembly, outfitting, testing and commissioning. In all, building the four vessels will require approximately 3,500 man-years of work to Helsinki Shipyard, the shipbuilder said.

 

“This vessel which was named today is the first one of totally four vessels under construction for Sovcomflot,” said Esko Mustamäki, CEO of Arctech Helsinki Shipyard. “This vessel is technically a forerunner in arctic shipbuilding. It is also environmentally advanced and fulfills already the IMO Tier III requirements. We have also paid special attention to the underwater noise level caused by the ship.”

 

The Russian Maritime Register of Shipping, which is providing technical supervision during the construction of all the four vessels, has assigned an ice class of Icebreaker 6 to the new IBSV.

 

The Gennadiy Nevelskoy naming ceremony was attended by Sergey Frank, President and CEO of PAO Sovcomflot; Ole Myklestad, Sakhalin Energy's Production Director; and Alexey Rakhmanov, President of United Shipbuilding Corporation. Also present at the ceremony was Vladimir Evenko, Chief Engineer and Director of Classification Department of the Russian Marine Register of Shipping. 

 

The vessel was sponsored by Ekaterina Sokolova, PhD, Research Professor at the Centre for Maritime International Studies of the Admiral Nevelskoy State Maritime University in Vladivostok.

 

“The mutually advantageous cooperation between Sovcomflot and Sakhalin Energy has a 10-year history, and we pride ourselves in that it has been progressing year to year and expanding to a greater scale,” Frank said. “Today, Sakhalin-2 operations are being serviced by eight Sovcomflot vessels, a number that we soon expect to increase to 12. These positive dynamic reflects Sovcomflot’s strategic priorities that include the continuous expansion of Sovcomflot’s involvement in long-term energy projects, with a special focus on those being carried out in harsh environments. At the same time, adding Gennadiy Nevelskoy to our fleet enables us to strengthen Sovcomflot’s position as a global leader in the icebreaking supply vessel class. The rich historical experience of Russian-Finnish cooperation, in building vessels for Arctic and Sub-Arctic seas, constitutes a good basis for contemporary cooperation projects in this field. It is symbolic that the ship on which Gennadiy Nevelskoy carried out the Amur expedition, Baikal, was constructed in 1848 in Helsinki.”

 

“We have long-lasting ties with Finland’s shipbuilders. Russian specialists collaborated with their Finnish counterparts in the construction of ice-class tankers and special vessels for the development of the Artic Basin. We are learning icebreaking technologies from our partners, but at the same time we contribute our own competences,” Rakhmanov said. “The Gennadiy Nevelskoy shall continue our cooperation and carry on the glorious traditions of the Russian-Finnish shipbuilding industry. I am convinced that Sovcomflot will do justice to the performance characteristics of the vessel.” 

 

“Gennady Nevelskoy PSV is currently the best vessel in its class. She was built in line with Russian and international maritime safety standards and is designed to operate successfully in the most challenging Arctic conditions,” Myklestad said. “I am proud to tell you that over the next 20 years, she will make year-round supply runs, delivering equipment and materials to the Sakhalin-2 oil and gas platforms. Note that this multifunctional vessel can be used for emergency response purposes, further enhancing the safety of our operations.”

 

Among those invited to the ceremony were representatives of the Admiral Nevelskoy State Maritime University (MSUN), one of Russia’s main maritime universities, which is also named after the renowned explorer. They were Vladimir Verevkin, Doctor of Science, Head of Electrical Systems and Automation of Ships Department at MSUN’s Maritime Institute for Information Technologies, and Evgeny Butyaev, a fifth-year cadet of the University.

 

Alexander Kukel-Kraevsky, great-great-grandson of Admiral Nevelskoy, sent a message of greeting, which was read at the ceremony: “The name that gives birth to this icebreaking vessel is symbolic. Indeed just one hundred and fifty years ago, having abandoned a quiet, satisfied and high achieving career, Captain-Lieutenant Nevelskoy with his team made significant achievements within wild and inhuman conditions, following great hardship and sometimes at the cost of life, by having explored and, in essence, having created the conditions for the development of the Russian Far East. One can say he gave birth to this region.”

 

As part of the Sakhalin-2 project, SCF Group today already operates three platform supply vessels: SCF Endeavour, SCF Endurance and SCF Enterprise; three Aframax crude oil shuttle tankers: Zaliv Aniva, Sakhalin Island  and Governor Farkhutdinov; and two LNG carriers: Grand Aniva and Grand Elena, both operated together with Japan’s NYK Line. All the vessels are operated under long-term time charter contracts with Sakhalin Energy.