SCF Group expands LNG fleet and strengthens partnership with Total

On 4 February 2020, a naming ceremony was held for SCF Group’s latest LNG carrier, SCF La Perouse, named after Jean-François de la Pérouse, a French explorer of the Pacific. The vessel will operate under a long-term time charter agreement with Total. The event was held at Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries’ shipyard, Republic of Korea.

The ceremony was attended by: Sergey Frank, Chairman of the Board of Directors of PAO Sovcomflot; Nikolay Kolesnikov, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of PAO Sovcomflot; Peter Justesen, Vice President for LNG Shipping at Total; Arnaud le Foll, Total’s Country Chair Russia and Director General of Total Exploration and Production Russia, as well as representatives of ING Bank, KfW IPEX-Bank, and Crédit Agricole.

Fleur-Eve Durin le Foll, the spouse of Total’s Country Chair Russia, is the vessel’s sponsor. 

Commenting Sergey Frank, Chairman of the Board of Directors of PAO Sovcomflot, noted “Sovcomflot and Total have enjoyed a strong partnership for many years, and we are happy to have an opportunity to expand this cooperation. Sovcomflot is proud that back in 2017, the world’s first icebreaking LNG carrier was named after Christophe de Margerie, the late head of Total who had made a major contribution to the development of relations between our nations. SCF Group continues to steadily grow the share of long-term LNG shipping contracts in its portfolio, as envisaged by the company’s strategy, and with SCF La Perouse delivered to Sovcomflot’s fleet, the company makes yet one more step towards achieving this strategic goal.”

Alexander Matanov, the vessel’s master, added “SCF La Perouse is a new-generation Atlanticmax LNG carrier built to the highest industry standards of safety and sustainability. The cargo capacity of the vessel is 174,000 cubic metres. The vessel features a slow-speed dual-fuel X-DF engine and gas boil-off partial liquefaction system.” 

Currently, Sovcomflot has two more similar LNG carriers under construction, scheduled for delivery during the second half of 2020.

Jean-François de la Pérouse (1741-1788) was a prominent French explorer, who from 1785 led a major scientific expedition around the Pacific, visiting Sakhalin Island, Kamchatka Peninsula, and the Kuril Islands. His name was given to the strait between the islands of Sakhalin and Hokkaido, connecting the Sea of Okhotsk with the Sea of Japan.