Novatek began regular shipments via the eastbound, Northern Sea Route from its Yamal LNG project in the Russian Arctic as two Arc7 vessels transited the ice-covered part of the route in 9 days with no icebreaker escort.
The company uses a westbound route to Europe and Asia in winter and can ship eastbound in summer.
The Vladimir Rusanov LNG carrier arrived at the Bering Srait, and the Eduard Toll entered open water in the Chukchi Sea. The vessels, able to carry 170,000 cu m each, are bound for the port at Jiangsu Rudong, China.
The vessels departed the port at Sabetta on the Yamal Peninsula with cargoes from Yamal LNG, where the first 5.5-million-tonne/year train started up late last year (OGJ Online, Dec. 6, 2017).
Yamal LNG interests are Novatek, 50.1%; Total and China National Petroleum Corp., 20% each; and Silk Road Fund, 9.9%.
