They're breaking the ice up in the Gulf of Finland these days, and that's good for the oil business.
Sea trials have begun there for the FESCO-Sakhalin, an ice-breaking supply and rescue ship that’s going to undertake multiple duties around the Orlan platform of ExxonMobil Corp.’s Sakhalin I project in the Russian Far East.
Built at Kvaerner Masa Yards in Finland for Far-East Shipping Co., the FESCO-Sakhalin is, in fact, one of a small armada of ships that will enable oil and natural gas to flow from Russia’s Far East to markets around the world.
Exciting time
For FESCO, it’s an especially exciting time as sea trials are the most important stage of checking a ship’s readiness for work: where conditions of engine, maneuverability, speed, precision of equipment, and navigation will be carefully monitored.
But more icebreakers are on the way. Last December, FESCO announced that it had signed a contract with Exxon Neftegas Ltd. (ENL), operator of the Sakhalin I project.
Under the contract, FESCO will time-charter two icebreakers, Admiral Makarov and Krasin, to the operator of Sakhalin I for up to 10 years.
The icebreakers will escort 100,000-dwt Aframax crude oil tankers from the port of De-Kastri through the Tatar Strait. Time-charter of these two icebreakers is to begin in late 2005 and will continue throughout winter seasons up to 2015.
FESCO said it planned to invest significant funds in the modernization of its icebreakers, and it is doing just that.
FESCO and ENL have performed a complete inspection of the icebreakers using Det Norske Veritas (DNV), the ship surveyors from Norway. Based on the inspection results, a detailed program was developed to modernize Admiral Makarov and Krasin and prepare them for operations in the winter ice conditions of the Tatar Strait.
Ice-class Aframax
Those Aframaxes needed to carry the oil are coming along fine, too.
In fact, just last week, Russia’s Primorsk Shipping Corp. formalized a contract with Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) of South Korea covering two Aframax tankers and gave details of its participation in a future LNG transport contract.
Prisco Chief Executive Sergey G. Popravko and Alexander S. Migunov, managing director of Prisco (Singapore), signed the contract to build two crude carriers of 104,000 dwt at HHI’s Ulsan shipyard.
With the cold weather of Russia’s Far East in mind, moreover, the ship owner said the vessels would be accorded 1C ice class by DNV when delivered in 2008.
Prisco currently operates three larger tankers and is building three more Aframax 100,000-dwt ships at HHI-all of them for use in the transport of oil from Sakhalin I.
To make sure the floes don’t stop the flow, Prisco also is building a 74-m icebreaking tug in Romania through Aker Langsten that will be supplied with oil-spillage and fire-control equipment. ✦