Rosnefteflot has signed an agreement with Zvezda shipyard for the construction of ten 42,000DWT Arctic shuttle tankers.
Rosnefteflot, which is a subsidiary of the Russian government-owned oil company Rosneft, and Taimyr Neftegaz, also signed an agreement for a 20-year charter of these tankers.
ARC7 ice class tankers are designed to be operated in ice up to 1.8 metres thick and in ambient temperature down to -45°C.
The new series of tankers will be used for the transportation of crude produced at the Paiyakhskoe field from the mouth of the Enisey River along the Northern Sea Route in the western and eastern directions.
The vessels will be built at the Bolshoy Kamen shipyard under the supervision of the Russian Maritime Register and will be operated under the flag of the Russian Federation.
The phased delivery of tankers will begin from 2023.