Supertankers gas carriers transport liquefied natural gas equivalent to the energy of 55 atomic bombs. The liquid from these becomes the means for cooking and heating your home, however, the creation of marine transportation of gas was extremely difficult, although these vessels owe their existence to several amazing ideas. Let's consider them.
The transportation of natural gas around the world is big business. Supertankers much larger than the Titanic and built to carry natural gas anywhere in the world. Everything connected with him has a gigantic scale, but in order to realize this, one must be near him. How do these ships move huge volumes of gas around the world.
There are huge tanks inside. There is enough space for 34 million liters of liquefied gas, the same amount of water would be enough for an ordinary family to flush the toilet for 1200 years. And there are four such tanks on the ship, and inside each the temperature is minus 160 degrees Celsius.
Like oil, natural gas is a fossil fuel formed from the decay of ancient organisms. It can be transferred by pipeline, but it is very expensive and not practical when crossing oceans, instead engineers had to come up with the transportation of gas on ships and the difficulty was that natural gas ignites at any temperature encountered on Earth. A gas leak can be a serious disaster and fortunately there has never been a major accident, and tanker shipping line operators plan to continue in the same spirit.
supertanker tank
There is a very simple solution to turn a gas into a liquid. In this state, it is not able to ignite and, moreover, takes up much less space. If the cargo were in gaseous form, the tanker would have to be unrealistically huge - ten times the length of any existing tanker, or 2,500 meters long.
To turn a gas into a liquid, it is cooled to a temperature of minus 162 degrees Celsius, but it is enough to heat it up, right there, the substance turns into a flammable gas. To this end, there is a second line of defense - nitrogen. It is an inert gas, which is abundant in the air. Under normal conditions, nitrogen does not react with anything and more importantly, it prevents the fuel from combining with oxygen in the presence of any spark. It is impossible to ignite in one scrap if there is enough nitrogen around. On supertankers, potentially toxic nitrogen is safely sealed inside the gas tank's insulation. In the event of a leak, nitrogen does not dangerous goods react with oxygen, and the insulation keeps it in liquid form. Supertankers jokingly called the largest freezers in the world, because this is the equivalent of three hundred thousand home freezers, only ten times colder.
The gas is cooled onshore and pumped in liquid form to a supertanker, but these ultra-low temperatures present great engineering challenges. For this work, you simply cannot use standard steel pipes. Transporting this super-cold liquid through the ship's pipelines presented shipbuilders with a set of new problems, which were solved with stainless steel, to which a little chromium was added. This metal is able to make ordinary brittle steel withstand ultra-low temperatures.
The shipbuilders who created supertankers for the transportation of liquefied natural gas, everything was done so that not only the hulls of these ships were ready to cross rough seas, but that thousands of meters of the most complex pipelines with all their vulnerable bends, connections and taps were made of a material that would withstand low temperatures - alloyed stainless steel.
Transporting liquid on supertankers leads to another problem - how to keep it from splashing. Shipbuilders of such ships had to take care of two types of liquid. When moving in one direction supertanker carries liquefied natural gas, and on the way back, when the tanks are empty, they carry water as ballast to give the ship stability. One problem in two different forms.
Wind and waves will rock the supertanker and cause the liquid to slosh in the tanks from side to side. This movement can increase, intensifying the roll of the ship itself, and lead to catastrophic consequences. This effect is called the influence of the free surface of the liquid. In a literal sense, this is the area available for free splashing of water. This is indeed a problem leading to . Supertankers have amazing solutions. To reduce the influence of the free surface of liquid gas, the tanks are made in the form of a sphere. Thus, there is much less room for liquid to slosh while the tank is full or nearly empty. The tanks are 98 percent filled with cargo and sent to long voyages, having arrived at their destination tankers completely, leaving as much fuel as necessary for the return journey. Therefore, under normal conditions, the containers are either filled to capacity or almost empty.
supertanker systems diagram
Without sediment load supertanker was significantly reduced, and in order to reduce it, water is pumped into the ballast tanks in the ship's hull directly under the gas tanks. However, space does not allow these compartments to be made spherical, so another solution is required to prevent splashing water in them - cargo divider partitions. These are physical barriers, first introduced in the 1880s to prevent oil tankers from tipping over. Baffles protect tankers from overkill.
Gas tanker "Christophe de Margerie", filled with a test volume of liquefied natural gas, arrived for the first time in the port of Sabetta (Yamal-Nenets autonomous region) along the northern sea route.
The ice-breaking and maneuverability of the first and so far the only gas carrier for the Yamal LNG plant was fully confirmed by ice tests that took place from February 19 to March 8 in the Kara Sea and the Laptev Sea, the icebreaking gas carrier managed to exceed many design indicators. "Christophe de Margerie" proved the ability to move stern forward in ice 1.5 meters thick at a speed of 7.2 knots (target - 5 knots) and bow at a speed of 2.5 knots (target - 2 knots). In the coastal area west of the Nordenskiöld Archipelago "Christophe de Margerie" successfully overcame a hummock with a height of 4.5 m above the ice, keel depth 12-15 m, cross-sectional area 650 m² .
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In the port of Sabetta, it completes its first voyage along the western part of the Northern Sea Route. In Sabetta, the crew of the tanker and port workers will work out the procedure for entering the port and mooring. In difficult ice conditions and a small port area, this is not easy, because the length of the gas carrier is 300 meters.
Unique icebreaking LNG carrier "Christophe de Margerie"(Christophe de Margerie) ice class Arc7 is the first of fifteen Sovcomflot LNG carriers* for the Yamal LNG project. It is capable of operating at temperatures up to minus 52 degrees, mThe power of the propulsion plant of the gas carrier is 45 MW. It includes rudder propellers of the Azipod type. They provide high ice-breaking and maneuverability and allow using the stern-forward movement principle, which is necessary to overcome hummocks and heavy ice fields. At the same time, Christophe de Margerie** became the first Arctic ice-class vessel in the world to have three Azipods installed at once.
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The crew is 29 people and is fully staffed by Russian sailors.The regular officer staff of the gas carrier includes 13 people, each of which has extensive experience in Arctic shipping and additionally received specialized training at the Sovcomflot Training and Simulator Center in St. Petersburg.
Representatives of the shipyard (Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering), key equipment suppliers (primarily ABB, the manufacturer of Azipods), leading specialized research and design organizations, both Russian (Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute, Krylov SSC ), and international (Aker Arctic Research Centre, Hamburg Ship Model Basin).
During the first call at the port of Sabetta, the gas carrier also successfully carried out a test passage through a specially created sea channel - the most difficult section of the Ob Bay in terms of navigation. The canal was laid in order to overcome the bar (sandy underwater shallows) by large-tonnage vessels at the confluence of the Ob into the Kara Sea. The engineering structure, unique for the Arctic Basin, is planned to be operated in difficult conditions of constant ice drift. The channel has a depth of 15 m, a width of 295 m, and a length of 50 km.
The tanker was built taking into account all the requirements of the Polar Code and is distinguished by high environmental safety. Along with conventional fuels, the ship's propulsion system can use boil-off liquefied natural gas. Compared to traditional heavy fuel, the use of LNG can significantly reduce emissions of harmful gases into the atmosphere: by 90% sulfur oxides (SOx), 80% nitrogen oxides (NOx) and 15% carbon dioxide (CO2).
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For further berthing, the tanker will be moved to a technological berth designed to carry out cargo operations for loading tankers with liquefied natural gas obtained at the plant for its processing.
about the project
The Yamal LNG project is being implemented on the Yamal Peninsula beyond the Arctic Circle on the basis of the Yuzhno-Tambeyskoye field. The Project operator is OAO Yamal LNG, a joint venture between OAO NOVATEK (50.1%), TOTAL concern (20%) and China National Oil and Gas Corporation(20%) and the Silk Road Fund (9.9%).
The construction of the natural gas liquefaction plant is carried out in three stages with the launch in 2017, 2018 and 2019, respectively. The project provides for the annual production of about 16.5 million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and up to 1.2 million tons gas condensate with delivery to the markets of the Asia-Pacific region and Europe.
The cost of the project is estimated at $27 billion. Almost the entire volume has been contracted - 96% of the future volume of LNG.The logistics infrastructure of the Yamal LNG project is fully completed. Two checkpoints have been fully operational - the sea one at the port of Sabetta and the air one at the airport of Sabetta.
resource base
The resource base for the implementation of the Yamal LNG Project is the Yuzhno-Tambeyskoye field, discovered in 1974 and located in the northeast of the Yamal Peninsula. The license for the development of the Yuzhno-Tambeyskoye field is valid until December 31, 2045 and belongs to OAO Yamal LNG.
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A complex of exploration works was carried out at the field, including seismic surveys of CDP 2D, 3D, drilling of prospecting and appraisal and exploration wells, creation of geological and hydrodynamic models of the field. Based on the results of geological and hydrodynamic modeling, an assessment of gas and gas condensate reserves was made, which was approved by the State Commission for Mineral Reserves and confirmed by an international auditor.
The proven and probable reserves of the Yuzhno-Tambeyskoye field according to PRMS standards as of December 31, 2014 amount to 926 bcm of gas. The potential level of gas production to meet the needs of the LNG plant exceeds 27 bcm per year.
In addition, Gazprom carried out comprehensive 3D exploration and seismic work at the Tambey group of fields over an area of 2,650 km² , 14 exploration wells were drilled, and the increase in reserves amounted to 4.1 trillion m³ gas. Thus, reserves of the Tambey cluster amount to 6.7 trillion m³ .
A number of deposits of the Tambey group contain the so-called wet gas, which is characterized by a high content of ethane, and the deep processing of wet gas components will undoubtedly increase the economic efficiency of the development of all reserves of the Tambey group.
Gazprom is ready to consider the possibility of creating joint ventures. First of all, they will focus on Russian companies who already have competencies in the field of gas liquefaction, who have experience in working with wet gas reserves. Most likely, they will cooperate with PAO NOVATEK, which recently signed a framework agreement with TechnipFMC, Linde AG and JSC Scientific Research and Design Institute for Gas Processing (NIPIGAZ).
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The document establishes the main conditions for cooperation in the design and further implementation of projects for LNG plants on a concrete gravity base as part of Arctic LNG-2, as well as subsequent LNG projects by NOVATEK.
NOVATEK also signed a license agreement with Linde AG to acquire a license for natural gas liquefaction technology for the Arctic LNG-2 project.
Thus, Russian enterprise received unique competencies in the implementation of the Yamal LNG project, which will optimize the choice of a new technological concept for future LNG projects. The signed agreements pave the way for decision-making on the next Arctic LNG projects and are aimed at significantly improving their economy, which will ensure the competitiveness of their products in any world market.
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ARKTIKA drilling rigs were designed and manufactured especially for the project. The rigs are designed to operate in the difficult natural and climatic conditions of Yamal, they are completely protected from the winds, which ensures comfortable working conditions for personnel and continuity of drilling regardless of weather conditions.
LNG plant
An LNG plant with a capacity of about 16.5 million tons of LNG is being built directly at the Yuzhno-Tambeyskoye field on the coast of the Gulf of Ob.
The construction uses a modular installation principle, which significantly reduces construction costs in the Arctic and optimizes the project schedule. The production complex will include three gas liquefaction process lines with a capacity of 5.5 million tons per year each. The first phase is planned to be launched in 2017.
Under conditions of low average annual temperatures in the Arctic, less specific energy is required to liquefy gas, which makes it possible to achieve higher volumes of LNG production compared to projects located in southern latitudes and using similar equipment.
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After the launch of the plant, the hydrocarbon mixture from the wells will be supplied through gas gathering networks to a single integrated complex for the preparation and liquefaction of natural gas. At the entrance facilities of the complex, separation will take place - separation of mechanical impurities, water, methanol and condensate from the gas. The inlet facilities include methanol regeneration and condensate stabilization units.
The separated gas will be fed to the liquefaction process lines and will be sequentially cleaned from acid gases and traces of methanol, drying and removing mercury, extracting fractions of ethane, propane and heavier hydrocarbons. Further, the purified gas will be supplied for pre-cooling and liquefaction. LNG will be stored in special isothermal closed-type tanks; it is planned to build four tanks with a capacity of 160,000 m³ each.
The integrated complex will also include LPG fractionation units, stable condensate and refrigerant storage parks, a 376 MW power plant, plant engineering systems and flares.
Sabetta settlement
The village of Sabetta, located on the eastern coast of the Yamal Peninsula, is a stronghold for the Yamal LNG Project. In the 80s of the 20th century, the Tambey expedition of exploratory drilling for oil and gas was located in Sabetta.
During the implementation of the Yamal LNG Project, a modern infrastructure for the accommodation of builders, auxiliary facilities of the life support complex were erected: a fuel storage warehouse, a boiler room, canteens, a first-aid post, a bathhouse, a sports complex, an administrative and amenity complex, a hotel, sewerage and water treatment facilities, food storage warehouses. Additional canteen, laundry, fire station, heated parking lot, additional housing are being built. The peak number of workers at the construction stage of the Project is 15,000 people.
The multifunctional port of Sabetta is being built as part of the Yamal LNG Project on the principles of public-private partnership. The federal property (customer of the construction of FSUE “Rosmorport”) will be ice protection structures, operational water area, approach channels, vessel traffic control and navigation support systems, marine services buildings. Yamal LNG facilities include technological berths for transshipment of liquefied natural gas and gas condensate, ro-ro cargo berths, construction cargo berths, port fleet berths, warehouses, administrative and economic zone, engineering networks and communications.
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The boundaries of the seaport in the area of the village of Sabetta were established by the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 242-r dated February 26, 2013. federal agency of Sea and River Transport of the Russian Federation dated July 25, 2014 No. KS-286-r, the seaport of Sabetta is included in the register of Russian seaports.
The port is being built in two stages - preparatory and main. The preparatory stage is the construction of a cargo port for the acceptance of construction cargo and technological modules of the LNG plant. Currently the port is open all year round, accepts technological and construction cargoes.
The main stage of the port construction includes technological berths for the shipment of LNG and gas condensate. The readiness of the port to accept LNG tankers will be ensured in 2017.In the first quarter of 2017, the seaport registered 17 international ship calls along the Northern Sea Route, despite the fact that the beginning of the year is considered the most difficult in terms of ice conditions.
In the tundra in the north beyond the Arctic Circle, a modern airport has been built that meets all international standards. In the first quarter of 2017, 16 international air flights from Belgium, China, Scotland and South Korea were already issued.For comparison, for the whole of 2016, only 11 international flights were issued. In early March, Russia's northernmost airport, Sabetta, on the coast of the Kara Sea, for the first time received the largest An-124 Ruslan aircraft loaded with cargo from China, delivering components for the construction of a giant Yamal-LNG gas liquefaction plant, weighing 67 .67 tons.
The airport complex includes an ICAO category I airfield, a 2704 m x 46 m runway, hangars for aircraft, a service and passenger building, including the international sector. The airport can receive aircraft of various types IL-76, A-320, Boeing-737-300, 600, 700, 800, Boeing-767-200, as well as MI-26, MI-8 helicopters. The airport operator is a 100% subsidiary of OAO Yamal LNG - OOO Sabetta International Airport.
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* Sovcomflot has been working as part of the first subarctic project on the Sakhalin shelf "Sakhalin-1" since 2006. In 2008, the company began shipping crude oil as part of the Varandey Arctic project, which is currently served by three SCF shuttle tankers - Vasily Dinkov, Kapitan Gotsky, and Timofey Guzhenko. As of March 1, 2017, they safely transported over 51 million tons of Varandey oil. In 2010-2011, after a thorough study of the issue with the enterprises of the Ministry of Transport of Russia, Atomflot and interested charterers, Sovcomflot organized experimental cargo voyages of tankers SCF Baltika (117.1 thousand tons deadweight) and Vladimir Tikhonov (deadweight - 162.4 thousand tons) by high-latitude routes. Between 2010 and 2014, Sovcomflot ships made 16 high-latitude voyages, thanks to which the possibility of commercial use of the Northern Sea Route in summer navigation was proved and a new deep-water route north of the New Siberian Islands was mastered.
In 2014, Sovcomflot began transporting crude oil from the Prirazlomnoye field (Pechora Sea), for which St. Petersburg's Admiralty Shipyards built two SCF Arctic shuttle tankers, Mikhail Ulyanov and Kirill Lavrov. At the end of March this year, they transported 4 million tons of Arctic oil.
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At the end of autumn 2016, Sovcomflot started shipping oil from the Novoportovskoye oil and gas condensate field. For its service, a series of unique Arctic shuttle tankers was specially designed and built - "Shturman Albanov", "Shturman Malygin", "Shturman Ovtsyn" of high ice class Arc7, which allows to overcome ice up to 1.8 meters thick. The tankers are equipped with a powerful propulsion system consisting of two Azipod propellers with a total capacity of 22 MW. By March 2017, tankers had transported 1.3 million tons of Novoportovskaya oil.
** The unique icebreaking LNG carrier Christophe de Margerie of the Arc7 ice class built for the Yamal LNG project (Kara Sea) has joined the SCF fleet. This is the first gas carrier of the Yamalmax class, which has no analogues in the world. The ship was built at the Daewoo Shipbuilding Marine Engineering (DSME) shipyard (South Korea).It was launched in October 2016.tanker naming ceremony ice class "Christophe de Margerie", named after the deceased head of the French company Total, will be held in June in St.Total CEO Patrick Pouyanne.The estimated cost of the gas carrier is about $290 million.
The peculiarity of this vessel is its Arc7 ice class, the use of 3 Azipod-type RTOs, as well as the use of the so-called DAS concept (Aker Arctic Technologies Inc.), according to which the vessel can move bow forward in open water and stern forward in ice conditions , thereby carrying out movement in the ice without the help of icebreakers. The vessel has two full-fledged pilothouses - for stern and bow movement.
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Both navigation bridges equipped with TRANSAS MFD navigation system, consisting of 12 multifunctional workstations with a full set of basic applications, including a mapping navigation information system ECDIS, Navi-Radar 4000 radar station, Navi-Conning 4000 navigation information display system, BAMS alarm and alarm tracking system, as well as Navi-Planner 4000 route planning station, which allows, with minimal participation of the navigator, to navigate the vessel along a pre-selected route.
The equipment of the vessel is made in full compliance with the requirements of the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RMRS) and the international classification society BV. All equipment is designed and tested for year-round operation in harsh climatic conditions at temperatures down to -52°C.
The uniqueness of the equipment installed by Transas lies in the fact that all workstations located both in the bow and stern bridges are integrated into a single integrated system with the possibility of duplicating the main functions of the ship's operations to improve the safety of navigation. This is especially important in the course of the effective implementation of the large-scale Yamal LNG project, for which the LNG carrier Christophe de Margerie is intended. 
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The oil and gas industry is rightfully considered one of the most high-tech industries in the world. The equipment used for oil and gas production has hundreds of thousands of items, and it includes a variety of devices - from elements stop valves, weighing several kilograms, to gigantic structures - drilling platforms and tankers, which are gigantic in size and cost many billions of dollars. In this article, we will look at the offshore giants of the oil and gas industry.
Q-max gas carriers
Q-max type tankers can rightly be called the largest gas carriers in the history of mankind. Q here stands for Qatar, and "max"- maximum. A whole family of these floating giants was created specifically for the delivery of liquefied gas from Qatar by sea.
Ships of this type began to be built in 2005 at the shipyards of the company Samsung Heavy Industries- the shipbuilding division of Samsung. The first ship was launched in November 2007. He was named "Mosa", in honor of the wife of Sheikh Mozah bint Nasser al-Misned. In January 2009, after loading 266,000 cubic meters of LNG in the port of Bilbao, a vessel of this type crossed the Suez Canal for the first time.
Gas carriers of the Q-max type are operated by the company STASCo, but are owned by the Qatar Gas Transportation Company (Nakilat), and chartered primarily by Qatari LNG companies. In total, contracts were signed for the construction of 14 such vessels.
The dimensions of such a vessel are 345 meters (1,132 feet) long and 53.8 meters (177 feet) wide. The ship reaches a height of 34.7 m (114 ft) and has a draft of about 12 meters (39 ft). At the same time, the vessel holds a maximum volume of LNG equal to 266,000 cubic meters. m (9,400,000 cubic meters).
Here are photos of the largest ships of this series:
Tanker "Moza"- the first ship in this series. Named after the wife of Sheikh Moza bint Nasser al-Misned. The naming ceremony took place on July 11, 2008 at the shipyard Samsung Heavy Industries in South Korea.
tanker« BU Samra»
Tanker« Mekaines»
Pipe-laying vessel «Pioneering spirit»
In June 2010 the Swiss company Allseas Marine Contractors signed a contract for the construction of a vessel designed to transport drilling platforms and laying pipelines along the bottom of the sea. The ship named Peter Schelte, but later renamed to , was built at the shipyard of the company DSME (Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering) and departed South Korea for Europe in November 2014. It was supposed to use the ship for laying pipes South Stream in the Black Sea.
The vessel is 382 meters long and 124 meters wide. Recall that the height of the Empire State Building in the United States is 381 m (on the roof). The height of the side is 30 m. The vessel is also unique in that its equipment allows laying pipelines at record depths - up to 3500 m.
under construction afloat, July 2013
at the Daewoo shipyard in Geoje, March 2014.
in the final stage of completion, July 2014
Comparative dimensions (upper deck area) of giant ships, from top to bottom:
- the largest ever supertanker "Seawise Giant";
- catamaran "Pieter Schelte";
- the world's largest cruise ship "Allure of the Seas";
- the legendary Titanic.
Photo source - ocean-media.su
Floating Liquefied Natural Gas Plant Prelude
The following giant has comparable dimensions with a floating pipelayer - "Prelude FLNG"(from English - "floating plant for the production of liquefied natural gas" prelude"") - the world's first plant for the production liquefied natural gas (LNG) placed on a floating base and intended for the production, treatment, liquefaction of natural gas, storage and shipment of LNG at sea.
To date "Prelude" is the largest floating object on Earth. Until 2010, the closest ship in terms of size was an oil supertanker "Knock Nevis" 458 long and 69 meters wide. In 2010, it was cut into scrap metal, and the laurels of the largest floating object passed to the pipelayer Peter Schelte, later renamed to
In contrast, the length of the platform "Prelude" 106 meters less. But it is larger in terms of tonnage (403,342 tons), width (124 m) and displacement (900,000 tons).
Besides "Prelude" is not a ship in the exact sense of the word, because does not have engines, having only a few water pumps on board used for maneuvering
The decision to build a factory "Prelude" was taken Royal Dutch Shell May 20, 2011, and construction was completed in 2013. According to the project, the floating facility will produce 5.3 million tons of liquid hydrocarbons per year: 3.6 million tons of LNG, 1.3 million tons of condensate and 0.4 million tons of LPG. The weight of the structure is 260 thousand tons.
The displacement at full load is 600,000 tons, which is 6 times more than the displacement of the largest aircraft carrier.
The floating plant will be located off the coast of Australia. Such an unusual decision - the placement of an LNG plant in the sea was caused by the position of the Australian government. It allowed gas to be produced on the shelf, but categorically refused to place the plant on the coast of the continent, fearing that such a neighborhood would adversely affect the development of tourism.
LNG carriers over 300 meters long will be able to cut ice up to 2 meters thick.
Until factories are built on the Moon or Mars, it will be difficult to find a less hospitable industrial enterprise, how Yamal LNG is a $27 billion natural gas processing plant located in Russia, 600 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle.
In winter, when the sun does not appear for more than two months, the temperature here reaches -25 on land and -50 in the blinding fog of the sea. But this desert is rich in fossil fuels, about 13 trillion cubic meters, which is equivalent to about 8 billion barrels of oil.
Therefore, Yamal LNG, controlled Russian manufacturer natural gas Novatek, gathered partners to spend an unprecedented amount on the new kind fuel transportation.
Conventional tankers are still unable to break through the Arctic ice of the Kara Sea, despite their melting due to global warming. The use of small icebreakers as tanker escorts remains extremely costly and labor intensive. That's why an international collaboration of ship designers, engineers, builders and owners is planning to spend $320 million to build at least 15 300m tankers capable of breaking through the ice on their own.
The vessel will have to perform its tasks in extremely harsh conditions, ”said Bloomberg. Mika Hovilainen, icebreaker specialist in Aker Arctic Technology Inc., a Helsinki-based ship design company. “His systems have to work correctly over a very wide range of temperatures.
These tankers are the largest gas carriers ever built, measuring 50 meters wide. When fully loaded, each can carry just over 1 million barrels of oil. All 15 will be able to carry 16.5 million tons of liquefied natural gas per year, enough to supply half of South Korea's annual consumption and close to the capacity of Yamal LNG. They will travel west to Europe in winter and east to Asia in summer, passing through two meters of ice.
Icebreakers don't break ice as many people think. Ship hulls are designed to bend the edge of an ice cap and distribute weight evenly over its entire surface. When moving in ice, the tanker uses its aft part, specially adapted for grinding thick ice.
Tests of the first tanker took place in December last year. When moving stern forward in thick ice, its speed was 7.2 knots (13.3 km / h). This is the first ship of this type that sailed along the Northern Sea Route from Siberia to the Bering Strait in 6.5 days.
Building these ships is part of a much larger game. “This is perhaps the biggest step forward in the development of the Arctic,” said the President of Russia Vladimir Putin in December at the launch of the first gas carrier at the Yamal LNG plant. Speaking of the 18th century poet's prediction Mikhail Lomonosov about the expansion of Russia and Siberia, Putin stressed: “Now we can safely say that Russia will expand through the Arctic in this and the next century. Here are largest reserves mineral. This is the place of the future transport artery“The Northern Sea Route, which, I am sure, will become very effective.”
In order to cut through the ice, huge efforts are required, which is why the tankers received three generators powered by natural gas with a capacity of 15 megawatts. Any of these ships can "charge" about 35,000 standard American houses.
To avoid excessive operation of the generators, a special thruster manufactured by the Swedish-Swiss engineering giant ABB Ltd., disconnects the engines from the propellers. That is, the propellers can spin faster or slower without making the engine "howl," says Peter Tervish, division president industrial automation ABB. Separating the engine and propeller workload improves fuel efficiency by 20 percent, he says. As a bonus, “you get much better maneuverability,” says Tervish. Never before has driving a supertanker been so easy.
Although LNG tankers have been sailing for about half a century, ferrying fuel from the arid Middle East, until the last decade there was no need for special "ice" models when the Norwegian snohvit and Russian projects "Sakhalin-2" for the first time began gas production in colder climates. Port of Yamal LNG, Sabetta, was designed and built in tandem with the ships that will serve it.
LNG carrier Christophe de Margerie (ship owner of PAO Sovcomflot) successfully completed its first commercial voyage on August 17, 2017, delivering a consignment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) via the Northern Sea Route (NSR) from Norway to South Korea. This was reported by the press service of Sovcomflot a.
During the voyage, the ship set a new record for overcoming the NSR - 6.5 days. At the same time, Christophe de Margerie became the first merchant ship in the world that was able to navigate the NSR without icebreaking assistance throughout this route.
When crossing the NSR, the ship covered 2,193 miles (3,530 km) from Cape Zhelaniya on the Novaya Zemlya archipelago to Cape Dezhnev in Chukotka, the extreme eastern mainland point of Russia. The exact transition time was 6 days 12 hours 15 minutes.
During the voyage, the vessel again confirmed its exceptional suitability for operation in high latitudes. The average speed during the passage exceeded 14 knots - despite the fact that in some sections the gas carrier was forced to go through ice fields up to 1.2 m thick. It is noted that the total duration of the voyage from Hammerfest (Norway) to Boryeong using the Northern Sea Route was 22 days, which is almost 30% less than it would be required when crossing the traditional southern route through the Suez Canal. The results of the voyage made it possible once again to confirm the economic efficiency of using the Northern Sea Route for the transit of large-capacity vessels.
"Christophe de Margerie" is the first and so far the only icebreaking gas carrier in the world. The unique vessel was built by order of the Sovcomflot group of companies for year-round transportation of LNG as part of the Yamal LNG project. The vessel was put into operation on March 27, 2017 after the successful completion of ice trials that took place in the Kara Sea and the Laptev Sea.
The gas carrier is able to independently overcome ice up to 2.1 m thick. The vessel has an Arc7 ice class, the highest among existing transport vessels. The gas carrier's propulsion power is 45 MW, which is comparable to the power of a modern nuclear-powered icebreaker. Christophe de Margerie's high ice-breaking capability and maneuverability are ensured by Azipod-type rudder propellers, while it became the world's first high-ice-class vessel with three Azipods installed at once.
The gas carrier is named after Christophe de Margerie, ex-head of the Total concern. He played a key role in the development of investment decisions and the technological scheme of the Yamal LNG project and contributed significant contribution in the development of Russian-French economic relations generally.
Sovcomflot Group (SKF Group) is the largest shipping company in Russia, one of the world's leading companies in the marine transportation of hydrocarbons, as well as servicing offshore exploration and production of oil and gas. Own and chartered fleet includes 149 vessels with a total deadweight of more than 13.1 million tons. Half of the ships have an ice class.
Sovcomflot is involved in servicing major oil and gas projects in Russia and around the world: Sakhalin-1, Sakhalin-2, Varandey, Prirazlomnoye, Novy Port, Yamal LNG, Tangguh (Indonesia). The company's head office is located in St. Petersburg, representative offices are located in Moscow, Novorossiysk, Murmansk, Vladivostok, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, London, Limassol and Dubai.
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