Arc7 class tanker Alexei Kosygin, completed at the Zvezda Shipyard in the Primorye Territory, will carry LNG shipments in the Arctic, according to the shipyard’s press service.

Sovcomflot General Director Igor Tonkovidov noted that ships of this level of engineering and technological complexity had not previously been built in Russia.

“It represents a new generation of the Arctic cargo fleet. We are proud that our experience has enabled us to develop the expertise required to build modern Arctic cargo vessels in Russia. Ships of this series are intended to address a key national objective by ensuring year-round navigation along the entire Northern Sea Route,” he said at the vessel’s handover ceremony.

The Alexei Kosygin is the first of three vessels launched at Zvezda for Novatek and Sovcomflot as part of the Arctic LNG 2 project. These LNG tankers are capable of operating in ice more than two meters thick. Each vessel has a cargo capacity exceeding 172,000 cubic meters of LNG and features three unique rudder- propeller columns. The vessel is 300 meters long and 48.8 meters wide, with a total deadweight of 81,000 metric tons and engine power of 60 megawatt.