SOURCE: Arctic Now
DATE: Aug 1, 2017
SNIP: Loaded with liquefied gas from Norway’s Snøhvit field, the ice-breaking LNG tanker Christophe de Margerie is making an unescorted voyage across the Northern Sea Route to South Korea.
It is the first commercial voyage of the unique vessel, originally built for company Novatek and its grand Yamal LNG project. The Christophe de Margerie loaded LNG at Statoil’s Melkøya gas terminal on the Norwegian Barents Sea coast in late July and set a course east.
It is the first in a fleet of 15 tankers of the kind built to serve the Yamal LNG. The ships can carry shiploads up to 172,600 cubic tons of liquefied natural gas.
Only once before has a tanker brought LNG from Norway to the Asian market through the Northern Sea Route. In late 2012, the tanker Ob River successfully sailed the route and delivered LNG to a terminal in Japan.