Russia has added a new LNG tanker to its fleet, built with a strong Chinese footprint. The vessel, named Konstanty Posiet, is designed for Arctic waters and will serve the route from the Arctic LNG plant to China.
The naming ceremony took place at the Zvezda shipyard in Primorsky Krai, near Vladivostok. This is the second unit of its type for the state-owned shipping company Sovcomflot. The tanker measures 300 meters in length and 48.8 meters in width, with propulsion engines totalling 60,000 kW. It can transport approximately 172,000 m³ of LNG in a single voyage.
Due to the harsh Arctic conditions, the ship has an unconventional construction. It is built much stronger than standard LNG carriers, meeting the Russian Arc 7 ice class. This allows it to break ice up to 2.1 meters thick during normal navigation. To achieve this, the vessel features a specially designed bow with a spoon-shaped cut, allowing it to ride onto the ice and crush it under its own weight, similar to icebreakers.
Unique propulsion and hull design
The entire hull is reinforced. Instead of a classic propeller and rudder, the Konstanty Posiet is equipped with three azimuth thrusters. These provide better manoeuvrability in ice and are better protected against ice damage. The tanker’s cargo capacity, after regasification, equals about 101 million m³ of natural gas. To hold the LNG at -163°C, special membrane tanks are used. The source of this technology remains unclear.
– Russia lacks the domestic capability to build such complex LNG containment systems. The welding of special steel and the membrane technology itself are extremely sophisticated – they are dominated by French engineering companies like GTT – said a maritime industry analyst who asked not to be named.
The Russian shipyard claims the tanks were built using its own technology, but this is highly doubtful. More likely, Chinese suppliers provided the most advanced equipment and the tanks themselves. Chinese shipyards are increasingly competing with South Korean and Japanese builders in LNG carrier construction. The question is whether China possesses genuine proprietary technology or has simply copied French solutions.
Chinese role and strategic implications
For both Russia and China, the issue of intellectual property rights may be secondary. The Konstanty Posiet, like its sister ship Alexei Kosygin, is destined to service the Arctic LNG export project. Russian liquefied gas will be transported directly to Chinese buyers along the Northern Sea Route.
– This tanker symbolises the deepening energy and industrial partnership between Moscow and Beijing. Despite Western sanctions, China is helping Russia maintain its LNG export capacity – added the analyst. The vessel is a testament to how China is filling the technological gap left by the departure of Western companies from the Russian energy sector.
The Konstanty Posiet enters service at a time when global LNG markets are under pressure. For Russia, maintaining Arctic LNG production and shipping is a strategic priority. The new tanker will help ensure that Russian gas continues to flow to Asia, bypassing European markets that have largely closed their doors since the invasion of Ukraine.
Źródło: WNP.PL, Fot. Materiały prasowe / Sowkomflot
