Korean shipbuilders are expected to sweep orders for icebreaking LNG carriers which will be used for the Second Yamal Project, a construction project for Russian LNG.

“We expect orders to be placed by the end of the third quarter of 2020 at the latest,” a shipbuilding industry source said.

Tradewinds, a shipbuilding and marine journal, said on 29 June that DSME would win an order from Novatek, a Russian state-run energy firm, for up to 12 icebreaking LNG carriers. The 12 vessels — six confirmed and six optional units — are worth US$ 4 billion.

Under extreme conditions of minus 52 degrees Celsius an icebreaker will break ice more than 2 meters thick. This requires cutting-edge technology on both the front and back of ships, such as anti-cold construction and icebreaking systems.

The icebreakers will be charged with transporting 19.8 million tons of LNG per year from a gas field in the Gidan Peninsula 's northern Arctic region.

The ship order expected to receive by DSME is the second batch of orders for the Second Yamal Route.

All 15 icebreaking LNG carriers placed into the First Yamal Project in 2014 were constructed by DSME.

In 2019 Samsung Heavy Industries received five of the 15 units in the Second Yamal Project's first batch. Industry sources say within this year they will sign a deal with Samsung Heavy Industries for the remaining 10 ships.

Maritime Business World