Russia's second new LNG ice-class carrier is ready to enter into service, PM says

Russia's second domestically-built ice-class carrier, the "Konstantin Posiet," is set to enter service, with a commissioning ceremony scheduled to take place at the Zvezda shipyard in Primorsky region.

Russia's second ​new domestically-built ice-class carrier ​for transporting liquified natural ‌gas (LNG) is ​ready to enter into service and its commissioning ceremony will take ‌place on Thursday, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said. Mishustin said that the ceremony for the vessel, the "Konstantin Posiet," ‌will take place at the Zvezda shipyard in Russia's ‌far eastern Primorsky region.

The ships are designed to be able to transport LNG from Russia's Arctic projects to Asian ⁠and ​other markets ⁠all year-round regardless of harsh conditions. Zvezda, one of Russia's most ⁠advanced shipbuilding facilities, specialises in building large Arc7 ice-class tankers capable ​of breaking through ice up to two metres ⁠thick.

The shipyard was meant to build 15 tankers for ⁠Russia's Arctic ​LNG-2 project, but sanctions imposed over the conflict in Ukraine have caused delays and difficulties. Sovcomflot, ⁠Russia's largest shipping company, took delivery of the "Alexei Kosygin," the ⁠first ⁠domestically- built ARC 7 ice-class tanker, in December of last year.