World’s First Ice-breaking LNG Carrier Christened
By Aiswarya Lakshmi
Sunday, June 4, 2017
The world`s first icebreaking liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier was named Christophe de Margerie in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, South Korea’s Ambassador to Russia Park Dae-bong and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. (DSME) CEO Jung Sung-leep attended the naming ceremony for the country’s new carrier.
The ship will be deployed for Russia’s national Far East resource development in the Yamal Peninsula, in the western part of Siberia.
The icebreaking LNG carrier, 299 meters long and 50 meters wide, can carry 173,600 cubic meters of LNG. The icebreaking Arc-7 ice class carrier, capable of sailing through 2.1-meter-thick ice, is made of special steel plate, three times thicker than typical plates.
DSME received an order for 15 icebreaking LNG carriers from companies in Russia, Japan and Canada for roughly $14.8 billion at $320 million per ship.
The remaining 14 carriers are being constructed at the Okpo shipyard in Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province and are expected to be delivered by the first half of 2020.