OREANDA-NEWS.    Sovcomflot, Russia’s largest shipping company and a global leader in the maritime transportation of hydrocarbons, is among the nominees for the Lloyd’s List Global Awards 2014, held by the prestigious international shipping publication Lloyd’s List.

Sovcomflot has been nominated for the “Deal of the Year” award. The company received its nomination, from a panel of industry experts, for its USD316m project financing deal to enable the construction of two ice-class LNG carriers in the Velikiy Novgorod series. Sovcomflot implemented the financing in collaboration with its partner banks – ING Bank N.V. (ING), KfW IPEX-Bank GmbH (KfW) and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC).

The Atlanticmax LNG carriers in the Velikiy Novgorod series have a cargo capacity of 170,200mі and are among the leaders in their class. These new vessels will operate under a long-term time-charter agreement with Gazprom Group. The first vessel (Velikiy Novgorod) commenced operations in January this year and the second gas carrier (Pskov) will join her in September 2014. These ships are capable of transporting gas on a year-round basis from almost all existing LNG terminals in the world, including Russia’s first LNG terminal in Prigorodnoye (Sakhalin-II project, Sakhalin Region) and the Vladivostok-LNG terminal (under construction).

The agreement that earned the nomination has already won Marine Money’s “Deal of the Year” award in the Project Financing category earlier this year. The well-renowned international shipping journal noted that: “The favourable conditions of the agreement, including its project structure, long-term credit profile and attractive cost, reflect the solid structure of the deal, cash flow stability and the high credit status of the charterer.”

The winners of the Lloyd’s List Global Awards 2014 will be announced in London on 30 September 2014.