OREANDA-NEWS. July 07, 2011. A steel cutting ceremony took place at the Vyborg Shipyard for the first in a new series of multifunctional supply vessels, ordered by SCF Group, to service oil production platforms.

The ceremony was attended by representatives of SCF Group, Exxon Neftegas Limited, Arctech Helsinki Shipyard Oy, United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC), Vyborg Shipyard, the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping and Lloyd’s Register.

The construction of multifunctional supply vessels is the result of an agreement signed last December by SCF Group and Exxon Neftegas Limited (operator of Sakhalin-1 project). This agreement envisages the long-term chartering out of two, high ice class, specialist supply vessels. The relevant shipbuilding contracts were signed by SCF Group and Arctech Helsinki Shipyard Oy – a joint venture of USC and STX Finland. Vyborg Shipyard will be engaged in constructing of the hull elements of the new vessels.

The lead ship of the series will be named Vitus Bering, after a famous Russian explorer of the Far Eastern seas and a Dane by origin. in the future the modern supply vessels will operate in the same high latitudes that Bering explored. The first vessel delivery is expected at the end of 2012 – early 2013. Both ships will be registered in Russia and will fly the flag of the Russian Federation.

The vessels have been designed for year-round servicing of the oil platform at the offshore Arkutun-Dagi field, part of the Sakhalin-1 project. The ships’ design and their equipment will enable the year-round transportation of personnel, supplies and storage materials to the platform, the performance of ice operations, including escorting ships in ice conditions in the platform area, possible oil spill containment operations, including those performed in low temperatures, active firefighting operations, ocean towage of platforms and other large installations.

The hulls of the vessels have been designed to navigate in ice conditions with the stern forwards. They are equipped with dynamic positioning systems to ensure stable positioning at the platform. The design and the equipment of the ships will allow them to operate safely in winter ice up to 1.7 metres thick. The power propulsion system, comprising four main engines, will provide an aggregate power of 18 MW.
 Vessel dimentions:

 Deadweight – 3,950 tonnes
 Length overall – 99.2 metres
 Breadth (moulded) – 21.7 metres
 Draft – 7.9 metres
 Crew – 22 people

 Sovcomflot Vice-President Alexander Kurtynin noted: “Today’s event is an important milestone in development of the upstream services for theoffshore energy projects – one of the activities most in demand from Russian and international oil and gas companies. The development of Sovcomflot as a national operator in the complex services for the offshore production is one of the key elements of SCF Group’s development Strategy to 2017. The ships will be constructed jointly by Russian and Finnish shipbuilders and will represent a new generation of multifunctional supply vessels. We are very pleased to start the construction of these modern high-tech and enhanced ice class ships in Russia. This represents the future of Russian shipbuilding.”