Tundra News

Italy plans to boost its liquefied natural gas (LNG) import capacity to 27 billion cubic metres (bcm) from nearly 17 bcm currently as it seeks to completely replace Russian gas supplies following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.In 2021, Moscow provided Rome with 29 bcm of gas via pipelines, equal to around 40% of Italy's total imports but Russian supplies have fallen in recent months to around 10% of total imports. Italy, which can now count on three LNG terminals, has mandated gas grid operator Snam SRG.MI to buy and set up two additional floating storage and regasification units (FSRU) near the cities of Piombino and Ravenna.A timely start for the Piombino FSRU is crucial to allow Italy to fill gas storage facilities in time for winter 2023…

Europe's race to replace Russian gas supply has threatened Australia's plans for five gas import terminals as they compete for key infrastructure, raising the risk of a supply shortfall in Australia's populous southeast in the next two years.France, Germany, and the Netherlands among others will need to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) to replace pipelined gas from Russia, which has been hit by sanctions during the Ukraine conflict.European users are grabbing floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs) needed to convert LNG to gas…

Italian gas group Snam has agreed to buy Golar LNG's floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) Golar Tundra for $350 million.The Golar Tundra can operate both as an LNG carrier and as an FSRU. The vessel, built in 2015, has a storage capacity of around 170,000 cubic meters of LNG and a continuous regasification capacity of 5 billion cubic meters per year.In order to maximise its regasification capacity, the vessel will be located in central-northern Italy, close to the areas with the greatest gas consumption. The Golar Tundra is expected to start operations as an FSRU during the spring of 2023, subject to the completion of authorization…

Following another year of stark climate impacts in the Arctic, scientists warned Tuesday of a new scourge hitting the region: marine trash.With the region warming twice as fast as the rest of the world, sea ice that has long blanketed the Arctic Ocean is disappearing, opening new routes to shipping. Scientists began noticing the trash bobbing in the icy water or piling up on Alaska Bering Strait-area beaches last year.“That’s a direct result of increased human maritime activities…

Svitzer Europe took delivery of the first of two new icebreaking tugs from Med Marine to support its operations in Scandinavia.After mobilizing from the shipyard on the Black Sea, Svitzer Embla will arrive and start working in Sweden in the beginning of April 2021. Soon after, in the beginning of May 2021, the second tug, Svitzer Edda, will be delivered and start mobilizing towards Denmark, where she will serve a large variety of customers throughout Scandinavia. The 30-meter…

Turkish shipbuilder Med Marine said it has won repeat business from Maersk's towage arm, securing an order to deliver a new 23-meter tug for Svitzer’s German fleet.The contract signed last week for a MED-A2360 series tug follows a deal inked in September 2019 for two 30-meter icebreaking tugs for the Danish operator's Scandinavian operations. The newly ordered vessel (hull name ER80) will have 60-ton bollard pull and is set for November 2020.The MED-A2360 series tug is based on Robert Allan’s RAmparts 2300-MM designed exclusively for Med Marine by the Canadian vessel designer.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (SLSDC) announced it has taken delivery of its new 118-foot icebreaking tug, the Seaway Guardian, in Massena, N.Y. Built by Gulf Island Shipyards in Houma, La., the vessel is the first new tug to join SLSDC since the Seaway opened 61 years ago.The new $24 million tug will primarily be used for buoy maintenance and ice management on the St. Lawrence Seaway, replacing the long-serving 62-year-old Robinson Bay, which the SLSDC will maintain as backup.

Turkish shipbuilder Med Marine on Thursday held a keel-laying ceremony at Ereğli Shipyard for two new icebreaking tugs being constructed for Svitzer.

The most powerful ice-breaking tug of this size, TundRA 3600-H (Hybrid) tug VILJA was christened in the Port of Luleå, Sweden.The 36-metre tug is yet another significant achievement of Robert Allan Ltd. The hybrid propulsion system and the use of batteries provides the vessel with flexibility and efficiency to perform its task year-round.The tug will be capable of operating entirely on the electrical battery power feeding shaft driven motor generator sets as well as the ship’s load only or by utilizing a single main engine in the hybrid diesel-electrical mode driving both shafts via the same motor generator sets producing a bollard pull of up to 55 tonnes…

Med Marine has recently signed a newbuilding contract with Danish operator, Svitzer for two icebreaking tugboats.The design is new in Med Marine’s portfolio and comes with some great features for extreme climate conditions.TundRA 3000 is a concept design by Canadian designer Robert Allan Ltd. As the designer has experience in working with different companies operating in harsh winter conditions, TundRA was a great fit for Svitzer’s North European fleet. Once delivered, the vessels will operate across Scandinavia…

Med Marine based in Istanbul signed a newbuilding contract with Danish operator, Svitzer for two icebreaking tugboats. The design is new in Med Marine’s portfolio, the TundRA 3000 concept a design from Robert Allan Ltd. Once delivered, the vessels will operate across Scandinavia, predominantly serving ports in Denmark and Sweden.The tugs are designed for operations in the full range of ice conditions, and Med Marine’s Procurement & Technical Group Manager Ertuğrul ÇETİN said “It is a great pleasure for Med Marine to experience the needs of different geographies.

Global towage operator Svitzer said it has signed a new deal with Turkish shipbuilder Med Marine for two new 30-meter ice class tugs expected to be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2020 and first quarter of 2021. The vessels will join Svitzer’s 30-strong fleet of towage vessels in Scandinavia and Germany The tugs have been custom designed to fit Svitzer’s requirements across its Scandinavian operations. The new TundRA 3000 designs were created by Canadian naval architecture firm Robert Allan Ltd and have Finnish-Swedish ice class 1A status, giving them icebreaking capabilities.

The powerful 36 meter hybrid icebreaker tug Vilja was delivered to her Owner, Port of Luleå, on June 26th, 2019 at Gondan Shipyard in Spain. On July 4th, Vilja arrived in Luleå and the crew was very satisfied with the first sailing experience and tug performance on the journey home. The vessel will soon be used for ice management, firefighting and navigation aids service duties in the Port of Luleå, Sweden and will assist ships and conduct coastal towing in the northern sector of the Gulf of Bothnia.Vilja is a 36 meter TundRA 3600–H, Icebreaking Escort Tug designed by Robert Allan Ltd.

Sanmar Shipyards of Turkey, held a keel-laying ceremony for the first of two TundRA 3200 ice breaking tugs for Finnish operator, Alfons Håkans Group.According to a press release, Jarkko Toivola (Director/Vice President) and Tero Hänninen (Project Manager), representing Alfons Håkans Group, and Orhan Gürün (Chairman of the Board) and Hasan Çakmak (Technical Director) on behalf of Sanmar Shipyards were present at the occasion.Robert Allan (RAL) was selected as the designer of new ice-breaking tugs for Alfons Hakans, a major tugboat owner and operator in Finland. RAL worked closely with the operator and the shipyard to develop the customized…

The owner and operator of liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers GasLog and spin-off GasLog Partners are withdrawing their LNG carriers from their pooling joint venture with Golar LNG.The Cool Pool was launched in September 2015 with 14 tri-fuel diesel engine (TFDE) LNG carriers contributed by three owners: three ships from Dynagas Ltd, three from GasLog Ltd  and eight from Golar LNG Ltd.Golar LNG Limited announced in a press release that due to the potential spin-off of its TFDE fleet into a new pure-play LNG shipping entity, GasLog has decided to withdraw its six vessels from the Cool Pool. Golar, or, subject to interim market conditions, the spin-off entity, will assume ownership of the Cool Pool following GasLog's departure in June.

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipper Golar announced that it has decided to proceed with a spin-off of its Tri-Fuel Diesel Electric (TFDE) LNG carrier business as well as to focus its activities primarily on floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) and downstream assets.According to a stock exchange announcement, this will allow LNG shipping investors more direct exposure to the LNG shipping market and reposition Golar's core business toward LNG infrastructure on long-term contracts.Golar are in talks with other owners of similar tonnage to join the new shipping company and have discussed with Golar Power exchanging one of their LNG carriers for the FSRU Golar Tundra.Management of Golar's vessels will remain with Golar Management Norway AS…

Robert Allan Ltd (RAL) has been selected as the designer of new icebreaking tugs for Alfons Hakans, a major tugboat owner and operator in Finland.The collaboration between Alfons Hakans, with extensive practical experience in harbor tug operations and icebreaking, and Robert Allan Ltd., with its long history of icebreaking vessel and compact icebreaker-tug designs, resulted in the development of a unique, high-performance vessel.These new tugs will be specifically designed for year-round service in the Baltic Sea and particularly in the Northern Baltic Sea which is covered with heavy ice during winter.The TundRA series of tug designs…

Arctic region experienced the second-warmest air temperatures ever recorded; the second-lowest overall sea-ice coverage; lowest recorded winter ice in the Bering Sea; and earlier plankton blooms due to early melting of sea ice in the Bering Sea - these are the findings of NOAA’s annual report card on the Arctic.The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) report, which measures the changing climate of the polar region including warmer air and ocean temperatures and declines in sea-ice that are driving shifts in animal habitats, said that in addition to annual updates on ocean temperature, snow cover, tundra greenness and melting on the Greenland Ice Sheet…

A liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessel, the Maria Energy, arrived at Cheniere Energy Inc's $15 billion Corpus Christi LNG export facility in Texas on Saturday, according to Reuters vessel tracking data.This is the second vessel to visit Corpus since Cheniere started producing LNG in November at the plant's first liquefaction train, a building-sized unit used to cool natural gas into LNG. It could be the first vessel to pick up a cargo there.Cheniere said the first vessel, LNG Golar Tundra, did not pick up LNG.

GONDAN Shipyard in Figueras, at high tide, has launched a new hybrid-powered icebreaking escort tug designed by Robert Allan Ltd for Port of Luleå (Sweden).This is an important step for GONDAN Shipbuilders in unique compact icebreaker development. Designed by Robert Allan Ltd., the new vessel is a TundRA 3600-H class icebreaker tug which reflects the generations of experience in the design of ice-class vessels by Robert Allan Ltd.The new tug is a RAL TundRA 3600-H class icebreaking design fully customized for the Port of Luleå operational requirements. The vessel is designed to perform icebreaking – it is capable of breaking 1 metre of ice at a speed of up to 3 knots- ice management…

A new hybrid-electric icebreaking escort tug for Sweden's Port of Luleå was launched on Monday at GONDAN Shipyard in Figueras, Spain.The new Robert Allan Ltd designed tug, Vilja, is a RAL TundRA 3600-H class icebreaking design fully customized for the Port of Luleå operational requirements. The vessel is designed to perform icebreaking – it is capable of breaking 1 meter of ice at a speed of up to 3 knots – ice management, escort, ship assist, coastal towing, firefighting and…

Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (SLSDC) has awarded a construction contract for a new TundRA 3600 ice class tug to shipbuilder Gulf Island Fabrication, to be built at their yard in Jennings, La. The SLSDC is a wholly owned U.S. government corporation tasked with operating and maintaining the St. Lawrence Seaway between Massena, N.Y. and Lake Ontario, within the territorial limits of the United States. The tug, which will be based in Massena, N.Y., will primarily operate between the Snell and Eisenhower locks with typical duties including icebreaking/ice-management services…

President Vladimir Putin on Friday launched the first loading of liquefied natural gas at the Novatek-led Yamal LNG project in the Arctic, which will further expand Russia's global energy reach. The Yamal project, which required investments of $27 billion, will allow Russia to fulfil a plan to double its share of the global LNG market by 2020 from around 4 percent now. The LNG was loaded onto the ice class tanker "Christophe de Margerie", named after the former head of France's energy major Total, who died in a plane crash in Moscow in 2014. Total holds a 20 percent stake in Yamal LNG. "The loadings will be carried out all year round... "Russia can and should get a decent stake in the market," he told the attendees, who included Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih.