On 23 September 2021, the LNG carrier Marshal Vasilevskiy, under Sovcomflot’s technical management, successfully loaded a cargo of LNG from the Yamal LNG facility (operated by NOVATEK) and embarked upon a voyage across the Northern Sea Route.
On her way to Sabetta, the ship successfully crossed the Eastern segment of the Arctic without icebreaker support, from the Bering Strait to the port of loading, in 10 days. In the NSR, Marshal Vasilevskiy navigated in a slow-steam mode with an average speed of 10 knots. The air temperature on the NSR was -3 to +5 degrees C, with persistent fog and snow squalls observed at times.
The ship’s Master, Sergey Larchenko said: "Our first passage along the Northern Sea Route passed safely under favorable weather conditions. Most of the time we navigated in clear water, in the East Siberian Sea there was small-sized one-year ice of 1-3 points, mainly 40-70 cm thick. There were separate ice floes up to 150 cm thick, which did not hinder navigation. The port call at Sabetta and cargo operations were undertaken in the normal way. Navigating in ice conditions, of course, would have been more complicated. Having left Sabetta, we proceeded to India along the Northern Sea Route."
SCF has accumulated many years of experience and expertise of LNG operations, especially within the harsh climatic conditions, which is something in high demand with the energy majors. Since 2019, Sovcomflot has been the technical manager of FSRU Marshal Vasilevskiy (shipowner – Gazpromflot).
The Master of Marshal Vasilevskiy, Sergey Larchenko, has 17 years of experience including aboard LNG and LPG carriers. For the NSR navigation, the watch was reinforced with an Ice Advisor, Captain Stanislav Chichin, who has many years of work experience gained aboard the Arctic shuttle tankers serving the Varandey and Prirazlomnoye projects.
Information
FSRU Marshal Vasilevskiy is a vessel operating in an unlimited navigational area and simultaneously is a floating storage facility, transportation and regasification vessel for LNG.
- Length – 294.7 metres
- Width – 46.4 metres
- Cargo capacity – 174,000 cubic metres
- Speed max. – 19.5 knots
- Ice class – Arc4