Owner and operator of liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers Teekay LNG Partners held a steel cutting ceremony for Rudolf Samoylovich, an LNG icebreaker, at the Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) shipyard in South Korea on November 22, 2016. 

        Rudolf Samoylovich is Teekay’s second of six 172,000 cubic meter ARC7 LNG carriers to be built for the Yamal LNG project in Northern Russia.

        The 110,000 gross ton vessel will feature a length of 298 meters and a width of 45.8 meters.

The construction of the first icebreaker, Eduard Toll, began earlier this year with the steel cutting completed in April, according to the company.

        Both vessels have been named after Russian explorers known for their arctic and polar expeditions.

Teekay finalized the shipbuilding contract for the construction of the six icebreakers in 2014.

        The Yamal LNG project is expected to produce 16.5 million metric tons of LNG annually. The project, sponsored by Novatek OAO, Total SA, China National Petroleum Corporation and Silk Road Fund, is scheduled to commence production in 2017.

        A series of fifteen vessels will be built for the purposes of the project, each capable of transporting 172,000 cubic meters and operating year-round in second-year ice up to 2.5 meters thick. Yamal LNG has awarded Sovcomflot, MOL, Teekay and Dynagas one, three, six and five vessels respectively. They will be built to dual Bureau Veritas/Russian Register class.