OREANDA-NEWS. July 12, 2010. SCF Group added a modern and technologically advanced large-capacity Aframax tanker to its fleet. The vessel was named“Olympiysky Prospect”

The official naming ceremony, which took place a day earlier at the Hyundai Heavy Industries shipyard (Republic of Korea), was attended by Valery Yermolov , Consul General of the Russian Federation in Busan; Alexander Kurtynin, Vice-President of ОАО Sovcomflot; Yuriy Lazorkin , master of the ship; the crew of the ship, and other representatives of the shipyard and SCF Group.

Olympiysky Prospect, a 114,100 tonnes dwt tanker, having 1B ice class (based on international classification) is designed for crude oil transportation. The vessel’s dimensions are: length overall - 250 metres; breadth (moulded) – 44 metres; draft (summer) – 15 metres.

The vessel is designed to operate in the Russian part of the Baltic, including the transportation of hydrocarbons from the ports of Primorsk and Ust-Luga. The vessel fully complies with all national and international safety standards of the DNV Classification society.

Replenishing its fleet with Aframax tankers, which are in high demand both on the international market and in Russia, is reflecting SCF Group’s Strategy of Development for 2010 – 2015, approved by the Sovcomflot Board of Directors in December 2009. The Strategy envisages a progressive increase of the company’s share in this segment of the global tanker market.

As of today, Sovcomflot is operating the second largest Aframax fleet measured by deadweight tonnage. It allocates construction orders for this type of ships according to the requirements for transporting Russian cargo and the growing capacities of the onshore oil-loading terminals in the Northwestern, Far Eastern and Southern regions of Russia.

The construction of vessels of this size is not yet possible at the existing Russian shipyards. However, with the construction of new shipbuilding facilities in Russia’s Far Eastern region, the building of such large-capacity tankers in Russia should be possible by 2014.

SCF Group is one of Russia’s largest infrastructure companies. Its fleet comprises 145 vessels (10.5 million tonnes dwt in total). Its current shipbuilding programme includes eight vessels (800,000 tonnes dwt in total):

- The average age of the tanker fleet is approximately 7 years ( with the world average age being 12 years).

- SCF Group is the largest operator in the product tanker industry, holding the second place in the Aframax and the fourth place in the Suezmax segments.

- The company has the largest fleet for operating in ice conditions, being the largest operator of arctic shuttle tankers and vessels, as well as ice-classed LNG carriers.

Provides its customers with hydrocarbon transportation services; crude-oil trans-shipment using floating oil storage vessels; services for the development of effective logistics for energy resource transportation, and specialized vessels for servicing offshore drilling and extraction platforms.