OREANDA-NEWS. December 3, 2009. The fleet of SCF Group was expanded with the delivery of SCF Surgut, a modern high-tech large tanker of Suezmax type.

The naming and delivery ceremony, which took place at the Hyundai Heavy Industries Shipyard (Republic of Korea), was attended by Vladimir Bogdanov, General Director of Surgutneftegaz (one of Russia’s largest oil and gas companies and a major customer of Sovcomflot), Alexander Sidorov, Head of the City of Surgut, the top management of Sovcomflot and the shipyard.

The tanker SCF Surgut of 157,300 tonnes (dwt) has been designed to carry crude oil. Her Length on Average (LOA) is 274 metres, Breadth Moulded is 48 metres and Draft (scantling) – 17 metres.

The ship fully complies with all the national and international safety requirements of the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) and can operate area restrictions free.

The tanker is named after one of the oldest cities of Siberia – the centre of Russia’s largest oil region, a kind of unofficial oil developing capital of Russia.

The ship has been chartered out to one of the international oil and gas majors, and after completing all the formalities at the shipyard will start her maiden voyage to the port of discharge.

Sovcomflot is operating the fourth largest fleet (by dwt) in the world in the segment of Suezmax tankers and is placing orders for such ships as a result of the demands of Russia’s cargo base and from the growing possibilities from Russia’s oil ports, including the new Kozmino in the Primorsky Region.

The construction of such vessels at Russia’s shipyards has not been possible till recent time. However, new shipbuilding facilities which have appeared in Russia, will allow the Russina Federation to plan the building of large tankers from 2014.

On 18 November 2009, in the town of Bolshoy Kamen, SCF Group and OAO United Shipbuilding Corporation signed a package of agreements on the joint development of technical and commercial parameters for the construction of not less than six Suezmax tankers (about 160,000 tonnes dwt each) at the newly created capacities in the Primorsk region, as well as four LNG tankers of 170,000 cubic metres capacity each.

Today SCF group remains the largest customer of Russia’s shipyards, for the ordering of merchant vessels. The line of ships, completed and under construction, ordered by the company at Russian shipyards, includes product carriers of MR class, unique shuttle tankers of a high ice class to serve oil and gas offshore fields of the Arctic region, and port tugs. Sovcomflot cooperates both with the yards, with members of the United Shipbuilding Corporation (Admiralty Shipyards), and private enterprises (Pella shipyard).