LNG Vessels for Sakhalin II Project Christened
October 5, 2007
On October 4, 2007, two 147,000 m3 Moss-type LNG vessels being built for a joint venture established by Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) and JSC Sovcomflot, a Russian state-owned shipping company, were christened Grand Elena and Grand Aniva at the Koyagi Plant of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.' Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Works. NYK president Koji Miyahara, representatives from Sakhalin Energy Investment Company Ltd. and JSC Sovcomflot, and the purchasers of the LNG, among others, attended the ceremony.
The two vessels will be employed in the Sakhalin II Project* over a 20-year contract term for LNG shipments from Sakhalin to various ports in Japan, Korea, and to Baja California, Mexico .
| Names | Grand Elena and Grand Aniva |
| Capacity | 147,000 m3 |
| Length Overall | Approximately 277.00 meters |
| Breadth | Approximately 49 meters |
| Gross Tonnage | Approximately 122,000 tons |
| Shipyard | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery |
| Charterer | Sakhalin Energy Investment Company Ltd. (stockholders: Gazprom, 50% + one share of stock; Shell, 27.5% - one share of stock; Mitsui & Co. Ltd., 12.5%; and Mitsubishi Corporation, 10%) |
| Shipowner | Joint venture between NYK and JSC Sovcomflot (ownership: NYK, 60%; JSC Sovcomflot, 40%) |
| Term | Twenty years after completion of respective vessels (with two five-year extension options by the charterer; maximum length: 30 years) |
| Shipyard | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. |
| Completion Date | Fourth quarter of 2007 |
* The Sakhalin II Project is conducted by Sakhalin Energy Investment Company Ltd. under a Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) with the Russian Federation for development of the Piltun-Astokhskoye and Lunskoye oil and gas fields located northeast off Sakhalin Island and production of hydrocarbons from these fields.