Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has attended the naming ceremony for the Arctic LNG tanker Christophe de Margerie, a flagship in a line of 15 similar vessels. The event was held at the Bronka deepwater port in St Petersburg.

Arctic LNG tanker Christophe de Margerie officially named
Caption: Arctic LNG tanker Christophe de Margerie - Image courtesy of Kremlin

The ceremony was attended by Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko, Energy Minister Alexander Novak, Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov, Economic Development Minister Maxim Oreshkin, Novatek CEO Leonid Mikhelson, Total CEO Patrick Pouyanné and Christophe de Margerie’s family members.

The tanker has been designed for year-round transportation of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the severe environment of the Kara Sea as part of the Yamal LNG project. This project allows for the development of the Yuzhno Tambeiskoyegas condensate field and the construction of a plant with a capacity of 16.5 million tonnes of LNG per year.

CHRIS. DE MARGERIE - IMO 9737187
Caption: Arctic LNG tanker Christophe de Margerie - Image courtesy of Kremlin

The vessel will bear the name of Christophe de Margerie, a French entrepreneur and former Total CEO, who died tragically in a plane crash at Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport in 2014.

Caption: President of Russia Vladimir Putin at Christophe de Margerie's naming ceremony

Source: Kremlin