OPK signs MoU with top Japanese leading shipbuilding companies

Within the cooperation framework, OPK plans to modernize its shipbuilding capacities in Severanya Shipyard and Baltiysky Zavod to enable it build large shipping vessels, including construction of LNG carriers. On the other hand, the Japanese partners, with their vast experience, including use of the most advanced technologies in shipbuilding and shipping operations, will participate in the development of plan for the modernization of OPK’s shipbuilding capacity in Russia, as well as provide consulting support directly for the construction of LNG vessels.  

The MoU signatories plan to participate in Gazprom’s tenders for the selection of shipbuilding companies to supply it with LNG carriers to enable it transport LNG from the Shtokman gas fields, as well as participate in similar projects of other companies that are exploring and developing energy resources developing on the Arctic shelf. “We believe that the combination of our production capacities and existing experience in shipbuilding, including in the manufacturing of icebreaking vessels, will enable us to offer the most optimal production and economically feasible proposals in the tenders to build the LNG carriers that can be operated in the severe climatic conditions, under which the Shtokman LNG Project is being developed,” the MoU signatories said at the official signing ceremony. 

The MoU partners have a vast experience in shipbuilding and shipping operations. For instance, within a century of existence, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. has become one of the flagships of the Japanese shipping industry, with a unique technological and production base. Similarly, Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha is one of the world’s leading shipping companies, while Mitsui & Co., Ltd. has a significant experience in execution of LNG projects, including participation in such projects as Sakhalin-II, North-West Shelf of Australia, gas production operations in Qatar, Equatorial Guinea, Oman, etc. OPK is the owner of the leading Russian shipbuilding companies and project enterprises such as Severnaya Shipyard, Baltiysky Zavod and the Aisberg design bureau.