OREANDA-NEWS. November 19, 2010. SCF Group took delivery of the first product tanker, SCF Alpine under a joint project between SCF Group and Glencore International AG.

The project, which will be undertaken by a joint venture of Sovcomflot and Glencore, provides for the acquisition and commercial management of five coated Panamax product  tankers (LR1 type). Technical management of all the vessels will be performed by Unicom (St.Petersburg) – a subsidiary of Sovcomflot.
The delivery of the four other product tankers is expected to be within the year  2011.
 
Evgeny Ambrosov, Senior Executive Vice-President of Sovcomflot, noted: “Sovcomflot’s entry into the  LR1 product tanker segment, as well as the enlargement of the company’s fleet with modern new vessels, is in line with SCF Group’s development strategy for 2010-2015, and is stipulated, among other factors, by the changing geography and structure of the world energy trade. Participation in the joint project with Glencore enables a broader access by SCF Group to the cargo base of one of the world’s largest traders and lays down the foundations of the company’s further development in the LR1 product tanker segment, as well as strengthening Sovcomflot’s position in the rapidly developing markets of seaborne oil and oil products transportation, first and foremost in South-East Asia.”    
 
Jan Andersen, Head of Shipping, ST Shipping (a subsidiary of Glencore), noted 'The partnership with Sovcomflot is a new and very exciting milestone. SCF Group is a world class technical and commercial partner and we hope that this Joint Venture will play a key role in ST's transition from an operator of a substantial TC fleet to a Global player of both managed and owned vessels.
The first tanker of the SCF Alpine series  is a modern Panamax product tanker with double-hull,  deadweight – 74,120 tonnes, length – 228 metres, breadth (moulded) – 32.2 metres, and able to carry up to 12 grades of oil products. The implementation of improved tanker specifications corresponds to international safety of navigation and environment protection standards, and meets the technical requirements set for modern oil and oil product terminals.