Zvezda Shipyard Completes First LNG Vessel: Aleksey Kosygin Sets Sail for Sea Trials

In a significant development for Russia’s domestic shipbuilding industry, the Zvezda shipyard has completed its first LNG vessel, the ice-capable gas carrier Aleksey Kosygin, which set off for sea trials on December 25. This marks the first LNG carrier finished by a Russian shipyard, although some key components were built in South Korea.

The Aleksey Kosygin will be part of the fleet servicing Russia’s main LNG project, Arctic LNG 2, which has faced delays due to increasing Western sanctions. The majority owner, Novatek, has struggled to secure ice-capable shipping for winter operations and has not yet found buyers for its LNG.

Initially, Arctic LNG 2 was planned to operate with a fleet of 21 ice-capable LNG carriers for year-round transport through the Arctic, but none have been delivered so far. The Arc7 LNG carriers, measuring 300 meters in length and 48,8 meters in width, are designed for independent navigation along the Northern Sea Route, capable of breaking through ice up to 1,7 meters thick with a 45 MW power plant.

After completing sea trials, the Aleksey Kosygin is expected to enter service in early 2025. The more complex sections of the vessel were constructed by South Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI), which had been contracted to provide 15 hulls to Zvezda but only delivered five before the contract was canceled in 2024 due to sanctions. The five delivered hulls are at various stages of construction, raising concerns about Russia’s ability to launch more vessels independently.

The next LNG carrier, Pyotr Stolypin, is anticipated to be at a similar stage of completion as Aleksey Kosygin when Western companies withdrew from Russia. Both vessels and the Zvezda shipyard are under US sanctions.

The fate of the remaining three hulls is uncertain, as GTT reportedly completed work on only the first two vessels before halting operations at Zvezda in January 2023 due to EU sanctions. Russia is working on developing its own membrane technology to lessen reliance on Western technology, although its progress is unclear.

In terms of tanker membranes, the Russian company Segezha Group has created its own “tanker plywood” for use in membrane-type insulation panels. Segezha was certified by GTT in 2022 for its Mark III membrane, and the product has already been utilized in the Chinese shipbuilding market, potentially aiding in the completion of the membrane for the remaining Arc7 vessels, according to industry experts.