SOVCOMFLOT has placed an order to build two ice-class, dual-fuelled aframax tankers at Zvezda Shipbuilding Complex on the back of financing from VEB Leasing.

The 114,000 dwt, 1A/1B class vessels, which will be chartered to Rosneft on 20-year time charters upon delivery, will primarily be powered by liquefied natural gas but can also run on conventional fuel, according to Sovcomflot.

Sovcomflot, Rosneft, Zvezda and VEB Leasing are all ultimately controlled by the Russian government.

Details of pricing and delivery dates have not been disclosed.

Poised to become the world’s largest operator of tankers that can run on LNG, Sovcomflot earlier ordered six ice-class, dual-fuelled vessels at Hyundai Heavy Industries for delivery in 2018-2019.

Two have been chartered to Shell for five to 10 years.

In addition, Sovcomflot signed a deal to supervise the construction of five dual-fuelled aframax tankers with the same design ordered by Rosneft at Zvezda. Sovcomflot will manage and operate the ships when they are delivered after 2021.

“I am confident that the experience gained in the technical and commercial operation of Sovcomflot’s next generation tankers will be in demand both with our customers and Russian shipbuilders, helping to consolidate the leadership of Russian companies in the implementation of ‘green’ technologies in maritime transport,” Socomflot president and chief executive Sergey Frank said in a statement.

All of the vessels will be able to operate in sub-Arctic seas and the Baltic Sea while meeting the International Maritime Organization’s bunker regulations.