Under the contract, ABB will provide turbochargers, generators, switchboards, transformers, electric drives, propulsion control and the Azipod propulsion units to power the vessels through the arctic conditions.
ABB Process Automation division head Veli-Matti Reinikkala said that the Operating LNG carriers in ice-locked waters year-round need the highest standards in safety and efficiency.
"Azipod propulsion has proved to be the technology of choice for more than 30 ice-going vessels, including shuttle tankers operating for Sovcomflot out of Varandey and for Norilsk Nickel’s ‘Arctic Express’ container ships," Reinikkala added.
The contract includes options to equip 15 additional vessels and forms part of a project to transport LNG from the Yamal peninsula in Northwest Siberia to Asia and Europe.
Novatek-led consortium of partners have joined to open up gas from the Yamal peninsula located inside the Arctic Circle and locked in ice for most of the year, as part of the Yamal project.
Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) has received the new building program contract.
Image: ABB to provide electrical power and propulsion systems for ice-going LNG carriers. Photo: courtesy of Novatek.
