Our Arctic Neighbors: Russian shipping company focusing on Arctic
Russia’s largest shipping company, state-owned Sovcomflot, plans to start delivering oil and gas via the eastern route of its Arctic shipping lane in the summer, Sovcomflot’s president and CEO, Sergey Frank, told Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin at a working meeting Dec. 26. The shipping will be arranged jointly with Russian nuclear icebreaker operator Atomflot, according to a release from Sovcomflot.
“The work is being carried out in cooperation with oil and gas companies which find the markets of the Asia-Pacific region to be most attractive,” the release said. “Such voyages will contribute to gaining necessary experience in operating large tankers of the Arctic ice class along the Northern Sea Route with a view to arranging future regular marine transportation of hydrocarbons from the Yamal Peninsula and other offshore fields of the Arctic region.”
Sovcomflot is positioning itself to be a national provider for the complex servicing of Russia’s offshore oil and gas fields, specializing in operating in the harsh ice conditions of the Russian Far Eastern and Arctic seas, according to the release. More than 30 percent of the company’s $5.5 billion investment program for 2010-15 will be allocated to the servicing of Russia’s oil and gas production. Sovcomflot intends to broaden the line of ships being built at the national shipyards by constructing large Suezmax-type tankers, Arctic ice-class LNG carriers and a supply fleet for servicing offshore oil and gas production.
—Sarah Hurst
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