OREANDA-NEWS. February 20, 2009. The President of the Russian Federation and the Prime Minister of Japan attended a solemn ceremony to mark the opening of operations at Russia’s first liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant, which is based in the settlement of Prigorodnoye (the southern part of the Sakhalin Island).

The event was attended by the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev, the Prime Minister of Japan Taro Aso, Ambassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Netherlands and Japan, Russia’s Ministers and Government members, top managers of the companies-shareholders of the Sakhalin Energy (operator of the “Sakhalin-2” project), the companies-buyers of LNG from Sakhalin and the companies-transporters of LNG.

During the ceremony the guests went aboard the LNG gas tanker Grand Aniva (one of the two ships owned by the international consortium of the Sovcomflot (SCF) Group and NYK Line of Japan), which will be engaged in the transportation of LNG from Russia. The overall technical management of the gas tanker Grand Aniva is performed by the SCF Group.
The main specifications of Grand Aniva, built for LNG transportation within the Sakhalin-2 project are:

• Length: 288m
• Molded breadth: 49m
• Draught: 11.25m
• Capacity (accounted for 98.5%): 145,000mі
• DWT: 74,000 mt
• Speed: 19.5 knots
• Cruising Range: 13,000 nautical miles
• Engines: steam turbine
• Engine Capacity: 29,000 h.p.
• Cargo Tanks Type: Moss-Rosenberg
• Crew: 28

The SCF Group is the leader among the world gas tankers operators with 4 ice-class tankers. These gas tankers have an enhanced ice-class structure in compliance with international class 1B and an engine meeting the requirements of 1C ice-class, which allows the tanker to operate in crashed ice 40cm thick.

At the moment there are only 10 gas tankers with such an ice-class in operation – 3 ships with 1A (LU-4) ice-class and one more gas tanker with 1A (LU-4) ice-class under construction.
Grand Aniva will make her maiden voyage with LNG cargo from the Prigorodnoye plant in the second half of March 2009.
The commencement of operations of the LNG plant within the Sakhalin-2 project, brings Russia full membership of the LNG exporters’ club. At present only 15 countries have liquefied natural gas plants.