Partners in Russia’s Yamal LNG project have started talking to shipyards about a slew of vessels capable of working in harsh Arctic conditions.
Novatek and Total are said to have opened discussions over the design of up to 16 LNG carriers of around 177,550 cbm that will need to have ice-breaking capabilities.
Invitations to shipyards to pre-qualify for a construction tender are expected to emerge in the next few months with the full bidding exercise due to be launched later this year.
Aker Arctic, which is leading the shipping design efforts for the 15 million tonnes per annum project, is understood to be testing various models.
