OREANDA-NEWS.  SIBUR announces the arrival of its new gas carrier, SIBUR Tobol, at Ust-Luga seaport. The vessel will ship cooled liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from the company's new terminal on a regular and year-round basis.

SIBUR Tobol is the second gas carrier to operate under a long-term charter agreement with Sovcomflot, Russia’s largest ship owner and  tanker operator. Sovkomflot Group focuses on gas transportation as part of its development strategy, and owns a fleet of 10 gas carriers (including the new Sibur Tobol and Sibur Voronezh tankers), with an additional four gas tankers currently under construction. 

The carrier was built by Korea-based Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co. Ltd. The ship has already covered 12,000 nautical miles in 36 days  on its journey from the Korean shipyard, which it left in early October. SIBUR Voronezh, the first gas carrier custom-built for SIBUR, arrived at Ust-Luga in September 2013.

The carrier has already completed six deliveries of LPG to European customers.  SIBUR Tobol is moored for test loading at SIBUR's new terminal as part of its start-up and commissioning programme. Once loading in Ust-Luga seaport has been completed, the carrier will head for Sweden on an LPG delivery.

A naming ceremony for SIBUR Voronezh and SIBUR’s other new LPG carrier, SIBUR Tobol, took place on 4 July 2013. The gas carriers were named after the Russian Voronezh and Tobol rivers which flow through regions where SIBUR has its operations. SIBUR Tobol is expected to arrive at Ust-Luga in November 2013.

Both gas carriers were designed to SIBUR's specific requirements using the latest shipbuilding technology and in partnership with experts from Sovcomflot Group.

The ships are designed with ballast water treatment systems which will be compulsory for all vessels from the end of 2013. Their reinforced hulls will enable them to operate in harsh North Atlantic conditions with an active service life of 25 years. In normal climatic conditions the ships would remain operational for even longer. Both ships are of 1B ice class (Ice3 in the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping), which will allow them to operate effectively in low Baltic Sea temperatures during their winter passages.
The vessels are fitted with navigation instruments and software from
Russian manufacturers.
Technical specifications of the vessels:
Overall length  – 159 m
Breadth – 25.60 m
Depth – 16.40 m
Moulded draught – 10.90 m
DWT – 22,760 tonnes
Main engine output – 7,780 kW.