In speaking with shipping industry experts they explain that the choice of shipyard depends on three main criteria: the size of the dry dock, its availability, and the type of working needing to be carried out.
For example, in France there are three dry docks able to accommodate very large tankers of the size of the Yamal LNG carriers. The facilities are located at Brest, Saint-Nazaire and Marseille.
The yard at Saint-Nazaire has limited availability as it specializes in ship construction, not maintenance. Marseille, in the Mediterranean, would mean at least a week’s detour roundtrip for the vessels, which do not usually operate in southern Europe.
This leaves Brest, ideally located along the vessels’ main trade route between the Arctic and western Europe.
Fayard A/S instagram post showing the arrival of Arc7 LNG carrier Boris Davydov in August 2023. (Source: Fayard A/S Instagram)
“The dry dock in Brest specializes in repairs, but above all in hull maintenance. Its main advantage is that it is on the transit route between Yamal LNG and Montoir-de-Bretagne, where the Arc7s come to unload. A stay to the dry dock for routine maintenance can last from one week to 10 days,” explains Baudu.
Some of the LNG vessels recorded even longer yard times, up to 25 days, HNN data show, when damage sustained during Arctic operations requires unplanned repairs. In December 2019, for example, Georgiy Brusilov traveled to Brest for work on its gas containment system.
While Brest does not perform a lot of heavy engine repairs, it does specialize in hull maintenance, the type of work the LNG carriers require regularly operating in harsh Arctic conditions.
“The Arc7s come to Brest mainly to carry out their so-called “five-yearly” technical inspection. This involves inspecting the hull valves, dismantling them, and repainting the hull,” explains Baudu.
The central location of the yards in Brest and Odense is key to operating the Yamal fleet efficiently.
The availability of European yards, in Brest, Odense, or elsewhere in the region, help keep Russia’s LNG operations afloat. They allow Russia to maximize the use of its specialized fleet to carry Russian LNG to markets, industry experts conclude.
Source link : https://www.highnorthnews.com/en/how-danish-and-french-yards-keep-russias-lng-fleet-afloat
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Publish date : 2024-08-29 07:00:00
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