YAMALMAX Christopher de Margerie

On August 16, 2017, the Christopher de Margerie gas tanker successfully completed its first commercial trip, delivering a batch of liquefied natural gas (LNG) through the Northern Sea Route (NSR) from Norway to South Korea. During this voyage, the ship set a new record of overcoming the NSR - 6 days 12 hours 15 minutes. At the same time, Christophe de Margerie became the world's first commercial vessel, which was able to make the transition to the NSR without icebreaker wiring all along the route.

When navigating through the NSR, the ship crossed 2,193 nautical miles (4060 km) from Cape Zhelaniya on Novaya Zemlya Archipelago to Cape Dezhnev in Chukotka, the easternmost continental point of Russia. During the voyage the vessel again confirmed its exceptional fitness for working in high latitudes. The average speed during the transition exceeded 14 knots - in spite of the fact that the gas carrier was forced to go through ice fields up to 1.2 m thick on separate sections.

The total duration of the voyage from Hammerfest (Norway) to Poren (South Korea) using the NSR was 19 days, which is approximately 30% less than would be required for the traditional southern route through the Suez Canal. The results of the flight made it possible once again to confirm the economic efficiency of the use of the Northern Sea Route for the transit of large-capacity vessels.

The starting point for the implementation of the marine transport component of the Yamal LNG project was the experience of successful operation of Sovcomflot vessels in the framework of large oil and gas projects in the Barents and Pechora Seas (Varandey and Prirazlomnoye respectively), as well as experimental transit voyages in the Northern Sea Route Sovcomflot conducted in 2010-2011 jointly with NOVATEK and other oil and gas companies with the support of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation and Atomflot. During these voyages it was proved that it is technically possible and economically feasible to use high-latitude trails as a transport corridor for large-capacity vessels, and a new deep-sea route north of the archipelago of the Novosibirsk Islands was developed.

"Christophe de Margerie" is the first and so far the only icebreaker gas carrier in the world. A unique vessel was built by the order of the Sovcomflot group of companies for the year-round transportation of LNG within the framework of the Yamal LNG project. The vessel was commissioned on March 27, 2017 after the successful completion of the ice tests that took place in the Kara Sea and the Laptev Sea.

Gas carrier is able to independently overcome ice thickness of up to 2.1 meters. The vessel has an ice class Arc7 - the highest among existing transport vessels. The propulsion capacity of the gas carrier is 45 MW, which is comparable to that of a modern nuclear icebreaker. The high ice cover and maneuverability of the "Christophe de Margerie" is provided by the Azipod-type helical-type columns, and it became the first high-class ice vessel in the world to have three Azipods installed at once.

The gas vessel is named after Christophe de Margerie (1951-2014), the former President and Chairman of the Board of Total. Dedicated to work in the company for 40 years. In 1990-1999 he held managerial positions in the division of Total in the Middle East. After the merger of Total with Petrofina and Elf Aquitaine in 1999, he worked as Executive Vice President and President of Total, responsible for oil and gas exploration and exploration. In 2007, he was appointed president and chairman of the board of Total, in 2010 he also headed the board of directors of the company. Tragically died on the night of October 21, 2014 in a bizjet crash in Russia. For his great contribution to the development of Russian-French economic and cultural ties, Presidential Decree No. 704 of November 1, 2014 was awarded the Order of Honor (posthumously).

The Sovcomflot group of companies (SCF Group) is Russia's largest shipping company, one of the world's leading companies for the marine transportation of hydrocarbons, as well as servicing the offshore exploration and production of oil and gas. Own and chartered fleet includes 149 vessels with a total deadweight of more than 13.1 million tons. Half of the ships have an ice class.

Sovcomflot is involved in servicing large oil and gas projects in Russia and the world: Sakhalin-1, Sakhalin-2, Varandey, Prirazlomnoye, Novy Port, Yamal LNG, Tangguh (Indonesia). The company's head office is in St. Petersburg, with offices in Moscow, Novorossiysk, Murmansk, Vladivostok, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, London, Limassol and Dubai.