- In a milestone for Arctic shipping this year, the Eduard Toll Arc-7 ice-breaking LNG tanker has successfully transported its cargo from the Yamal LNG plant in Russia to China’s Fujian terminal via the Northern Sea Route (NSR).
- This delivery signifies the first LNG shipment through the NSR in 2023, highlighting the route’s increasing viability for international maritime trade amidst changing climate conditions.
Russian LNG exporter Novatek has delivered this year’s first Yamal LNG cargo via the eastern part of the Northern Sea Route to China, reports LNG Prime citing Kpler.
Yamal LNG cargo delivered to China via NSR
The 2018-built 172,652-cbm Arc7 LNG carrier, Eduard Toll, loaded the shipment at Novatek’s Yamal LNG plant last month and delivered it to CNOOC’s Fujian LNG import terminal in China during the weekend, its AIS data provided by VesselsValue shows.
Eduard Toll is owned by Seapeak and China LNG Shipping and chartered by Yamal LNG. It completed its first voyages for the Yamal LNG project via NSR in 2018.
Kpler said in a report on Tuesday that this new shipment to China marks the first LNG delivery this year through the NSR. “Three other Arc-7 LNG tankers – Christophe de Margerie, Fedor Litke, and Boris Davydov – are also en route to Asia via the NSR, underscoring the route’s strategic importance, especially amid new EU sanctions on Russian LNG transshipping,” Kpler said.
Kpler data shows Yamal LNG shipped 10.77 mt in the first half of this year, with 83 percent heading to Europe and 17 percent to Asia. The 17.4 mtpa Yamal LNG plant in Sabetta has three 5.5 mtpa liquefaction trains, and one smaller unit with a capacity of about 900,000 tons per year which features Novatek’s domestic liquefaction tech, Arctic Cascade.
Last year, Novatek said it had produced 100 million tons of LNG at the giant LNG project since its launch in December 2017. Besides Novatek that holds 50.1 percent in Yamal LNG, other shareholders include France’s TotalEnergies and China’s CNPC with a 20 percent stake, each, and the Silk Road Fund that owns a 9.9 percent share.
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Source: LNG Prime
