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.
(Reporting by Oksana Kobzeva; Writing by Anastasia Teterevleva Editing by Andrew Osborn)