Novatek Starts Shipbuilder to Address Shortage of Ice-Class LNG Carriers
A listing of companies established in Russia during March revealed that PAO Novatek, the country’s largest gas producer, established a new shipbuilder. The company declined to comment to TASS or Reuters, but the speculation is that, frustrated by the lack of suitable LNG carriers, it is looking to accelerate the shipbuilding efforts.
Named Severny Inzhiniring (Northern Engineering), the company was officially filed on March 25. The records indicate that it is 100 percent owned by Novatek. Its primary business is listed as the construction of ships, vessels, and floating structures. It, however, lists other potential activities, including the production of refrigeration and ventilation equipment, engineering surveys, engineering and technical design, and technical consulting.
Russia faces a limited supply of ice-class tankers to transport the gas from the far north facilities of Noatek in the Arctic. It had announced plans years ago to build a fleet of ice-class gas carriers at the Zvezda shipyard that was established under the tutelage of Vladimir Putin. Zvezda, however, has been slow in its efforts to turn out the Arc-7 ice-class vessels, which are able to handle ice up to two meters (6.6 feet)
Zvezda was working in partnership with the South Korean shipyards that were supplying hulls and component blocks to be assembled at the yard in Russia. The war in Ukraine brought sanctions that forced the Koreas to suspend the projects, while other sanctions have limited Russia’s ability to import key components needed for the ships.
The shipyard delivered the first Arc7 tanker, Alexey Kosygin, in December 2025, specifically built to transport gas from the Arctic LNG 2 project. The vessel is 300 meters (984 feet) with a capacity of 172,000 cbm. At the time, Sovcomflot, which manages the vessel, said it expected the delivery of two more Arc7 ice-class tankers from the yard in 2026.
Novatek and Zvezda said the plan called for the construction of a total of 15 ice-class gas carriers and a total of 21 tankers. Industry and Trade Minister Anton Alikhanov announced in February 2026 that Russia would be developing the technical designs for the ships domestically in the future, while reporting that work was already underway.
Novatek owns 60 percent of the Arctic LNG 2 project. The project and gas carriers have encountered increased sanctions as the war continues in Ukraine.
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The shortage of Arctic ice-class LNG carriers was further apparent in early December, when it appeared that the middle-class Arc4 carriers were unable to reach the terminal due to an early onset of thick ice. One of the vessels appeared to turn back and abandon an effort to reach the terminal for Arctic LNG 2.
No details were announced on the timing of the project or the expectations of how the new company could contribute to the need for ice-class gas carriers.