Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 receives a powerful ice-class tanker that can ship gas in winter, transferring it to the shadow fleet

The Alexey Kosygin. Photo: Rosneft press service

Russia’s Zvezda Shipbuilding Complex has delivered the country’s first fully home-built liquefied natural gas carrier. According to Rosneft’s press service, the Arc7 ice-class vessel Alexey Kosygin will be the lead ship operating in the Arctic LNG 2 project.

“The LNG carrier is capable of operating independently in the Arctic, breaking through ice comparable in thickness to the height of a single-story house. The vessel has a capacity of more than 172,000 cubic meters of liquefied natural gas and is equipped with a 60-megawatt power plant, equivalent to 80,000 car engines producing 100 horsepower each. Such vessels will make it possible to transport LNG along the Northern Sea Route year-round, ensuring stable logistics for Arctic projects,” the statement said.

As representatives of Arctida, an NGO studying the Russian Arctic, told The Insider, the arrival of the Alexey Kosygin will allow Novatek, the operator of Arctic LNG 2, to reduce both risks and costs:

“The key difference between Alexey Kosygin and standard LNG carriers lies in its ability to independently navigate ice fields up to 2.1 meters thick. This feature is critically important for operations in the waters of the Kara Sea and the Gulf of Ob during the winter period, which lasts from December to May, when the thickness of first-year ice often exceeds 1.5 meters and pressure ridges block the movement of lower-class vessels.

Until now, the Arctic LNG 2 project had been in a difficult situation: the plant was producing output but could not ship it during the winter months due to the lack of vessels capable of operating in the freezing Ob Bay. The new tanker makes it possible to carry out two to three shipments per month even in the harshest cold, ensuring exports of up to 250,000 metric tons of LNG per month.

This will help prevent inventory buildup. The LNG production process is continuous: if storage tanks are full and no tanker is available for loading, production has to be halted. A full shutdown and subsequent restart of liquefaction trains in Arctic conditions is a risky and costly operation. An Arc7-class vessel will ensure the minimum required shipping cadence and help maintain continuity of the production cycle.”

Arctida suspects that the Alexey Kosygin will be involved in transferring its cargoes of LNG to vessels of the “shadow fleet,” which are unable to navigate through Arctic ice:

“The so-called ‘shadow fleet’ is not suited for Arctic conditions. According to the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), a significant portion of this fleet — five out of nine identified vessels — have no ice reinforcement at all. Their hull designs are not intended for contact with ice, limiting their use to the short summer–autumn period in open water. The remaining four vessels are classed Arc4, which, according to the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping, allows navigation only in thin ice up to 0.8 meters thick. This is most certainly insufficient for winter navigation in the Gulf of Ob, where ice conditions are far harsher.

‘Shadow fleet’ vessels without ice-class capabilities cannot navigate the Northern Sea Route eastward in winter, so the only route for delivering Russian LNG to Asia remains either around Europe via the Suez Canal or around Africa. Using the Alexey Kosygin for the entire route would be economically inefficient, as most of the route lies through open water, where a vessel with a heavy hull like the Alexey Kosygin's is slower and less fuel-efficient than conventional ships. Instead, a ‘shuttle’ strategy may be employed, with the Alexey Kosygin acting as an icebreaker shuttle that loads at the Utrenny terminal and navigates the challenging ice stretch of the Kara Sea to Murmansk.

The Ura Bay near Murmansk holds the Saam FSU floating storage unit, where LNG is transferred. The operation takes 12 to 24 hours, after which the ice-class tanker returns for a new batch. From the other side, a conventional LNG carrier of a lower ice class approaches the storage unit, taking the cargo from the ice-free port and delivering it to buyers in Asia. A similar scheme using the Koryak FSU in Kamchatka doubles the efficiency of costly ice-class vessels, reducing their mileage and ensuring continuity of the supply chain, which would have been interrupted at the very start of the route without the Alexey Kosygin.”

Nevertheless, experts note that winter LNG exports will initially account for no more than 20–30% of the Arctic LNG 2 plant’s capacity:

“Despite the logistical breakthrough provided by the Alexey Kosygin, export volumes remain limited relative to the design capacity of the first train of Arctic LNG 2. The project’s further prospects depend on the production pace at the Zvezda Shipbuilding Complex. Full-scale operation requires a fleet of at least 15 Arc7-class vessels. Following the Alexey Kosygin, the delivery of the tankers Petr Stolypin, Sergei Witte, as well as the vessels Viktor Chernomyrdin and Konstantin Posyet, is expected.

Given the challenge of completing construction without Western components and the cancellation of orders at South Korean shipyards, assembling the required fleet could take five to seven years. Nevertheless, the current commissioning of the vessel addresses the main tactical objective: providing the capability for winter hydrocarbon exports and ensuring the operational viability of the strategic project.”

The series of ice-class LNG tankers was initially planned to be built in cooperation with South Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries, but due to the imposition of sanctions, Russia had to complete the Alexey Kosygin on its own.

“The series to which the Alexey Kosygin belongs features a unique engineering solution centered on a propulsion system with three Azipod-type thrusters. This technology enables the vessel to operate as a Double Acting Ship, moving stern-first through ice and milling the ice cover with its propellers, which significantly enhances its icebreaking capability. The 172,000 cubic meters of liquefied natural gas the ship’s tanks can hold is equivalent to approximately 100 million cubic meters of natural gas in its gaseous state.

Once new sanctions were imposed and foreign partners withdrew, the manufacturer also faced problems with the licensing of the membrane storage systems from France’s GTT. As a result, it became necessary to turn to domestic solutions, such as using ‘tanker plywood’ produced by Segezha Group for the insulation panels.”

Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 receives a powerful ice-class tanker that can ship gas in winter, transferring it to the shadow fleet

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