Yamal LNG's 15-Vessel Fleet of Icebreaking LNG Tankers Now Operational

The Arc7 LNG carrier Eduard Toll, one of six sister vessels owned and operated the Teekay-China LNG joint venture for Yamal LNG. Photo: Teekay

The fifteenth and final icebreaking LNG carrier responsible for shipping gas from the remote Yamal LNG terminal in the Russian Arctic has now been delivered.

The vessel, named Yakov Gakkel, was built by Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine
Engineering (DSME) and is owned and operated by a 50-50 joint venture by Teekay LNG and China LNG Shipping. It is one of six vessel owned and operated by the Teekay-China LNG joint venture.

The 299-meter-long vessels can carry up to 172,600 cubic meters of liquefied natural gas. With ice-class Arc7, the vessels are capable of operating year-round in the Arctic without the support of icebreakers.

All 15 vessels in the series are equipped dual fuel diesel-electric propulsion systems with three “Azipod” units supplied by Swiss-based ABB.

The Yamal LNG project says the Yakov Gakkel has now loaded its maiden cargo at the Port of Sabetta on Russia’s Yamal peninsula bound for China. The cargo marks the 354th LNG cargo lifted from the port since the opening of Yamal LNG in December 2017.

“The Project’s Arc7 ice-class fleet is capable of shipping all of the LNG produced given the increased performance of the first three LNG trains and the planned launch of Train 4,” Yamal LNG said in a statement. “The presence of all 15 Arc7 ice-class tankers creates additional opportunities from 2020 for optimizing the Project’s logistics both westbound and eastbound, including the more extensive use of the Northern Sea Route.”

At peak production, Yamal LNG will have four LNG trains with capacity to ship 17.4 million tonnes per year of natural gas from the Port of Sabetta. The first LNG Train began production in Q4 2017 and Trains 2 and 3 – in July 2018 and November 2018, respectively.

During summer, LNG is delivered to the Northeast Asia through the Northern Sea Route, but in winter, shipments travel westward to Europe, with transshipment through one of several European regasification terminals.

Yamal LNG shareholders include PAO NOVATEK (50.1%), Total (20%), CNPC (20%), and the Silk Road Fund (9.9%).