Gazprom Neft’s project to build Russia’s first LNG-bunkering vessel has moved into its final stage, with the Dmitry Mendeleev successfully passing sea trials following completion of major installation works. A series of tests on the main propulsion system allowed the functionality and serviceability of the vessel’s navigation equipment and control systems to be fully tested, and its manoeuvring and speed capabilities confirmed. Next steps will involve testing the vessel’s LNG loading, storage and unloading capabilities. The new vessel will form part of the Gazprom Neft fleet in the second half of 2021, and will be used for fuel bunkering at ports in the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea — St Petersburg, Ust Luga and Primorsk.
The latest shipbuilding and LNG transportation technologies are being utilised on the Dmitry Mendeleev project, in line with the most recent environmental standards governing maritime transport. The vessel will be using tank-return gas (TRG or “boil-off” gas) from transported cargo as fuel for its onboard power plant. All LNG-bunkering equipment is fully compliant with MARPOL and ECOS environmental standards.
The vessel is 100 metres long, and 19 metres wide. This LNG-bunkering vessel will be able to transport up to 5,800 cubic metres of liquified natural gas. It has a fully-compliant Arc4 ice-class reinforced hull, allowing independent navigation of one-year-old ice of up to 80 cm thick. Thanks to its integrated digital system the vessel can be managed by just one person from the navigation bridge.
“Open-water sea trials have confirmed the vessel’s high capabilities in terms of manoeuvrability — meaning bunkering can take place in virtually all climatic zones. The necessary gas tests will be taking place in the near future, and will involve specialists testing the vessel’s gas equipment. The Dmitry Mendeleev bunkering vessel is expected to be commissioned in the latter half of 2021.”
Alexey Medvedev Director General, Gazpromneft Marine Bunker
* MARPOL refers to the “International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships”. An amendment to the main treaty in early 2015 introduced further regulation governing the permissible amount of sulphur in marine fuels used in vessels covering Sulphur Emission Control Areas (SECA, covering shipping zones including the Baltic Sea, the North Sea and the English Channel, where vessels are required to switch to low-sulphur fuels). With effect from 1 January 2020 the requirements of the MARPOL Convention forbidding the use of fuels with sulphur content above 0.5 percent have come into force throughout international navigation.
