Teekay LNG Partners has completed an US$816 million long-term debt facility to finance all six of its 50 per cent-owned ARC7 LNG carrier newbuildings for the Yamal LNG project in northern Russia.
The first of the LNG icebreaker vessels, Eduard Toll, recently completed gas trials in November and is scheduled to be delivered in January.
The second ship, Rudolf Samoylovich, is named after a Russian polar explorer participating in a geological expedition to Spitsbergen in 1912, a Zeppelin expedition in 1931 and other expeditions on icebreakers in the 1930s.
The remaining 172,000-cubic-metre ARC7 LNG carrier vessels will be delivered through to early 2020.
The newbuilds will service the Yamal LNG project under charter contracts with firm charter periods until 2045 plus option periods.
The Yamal LNG project is expected to produce 16.5 million metric tonnes of LNG annually.