President & CEO of Sovcomflot (SCF) Sergey Frank received the award from Norwegian Minister of Trade and Industry Torbjørn Røe Isaksen in the presence of HM King Harald V of Norway at a ceremony in Oslo.
Frank said: "It is a big honour to receive this trophy. We are grateful to Nor-Shipping for this recognition of our 'Green Funnel' initiative. Today, the shipping industry steadily transforms itself to become increasingly more sustainable, and we are proud that Sovcomflot is amongst those who lead this process.
“The switch to using LNG as a fuel could significantly contribute to reducing human impact on the environment. We firmly believe that adopting LNG as a primary fuel for large-capacity tankers is the right move.
"We've been working on the 'Green Funnel' for several years in close collaboration with our partners, Shell, Hyundai Heavy Industries, and DNV GL. Today, I want to share the honour of receiving this prestigious award with them all and express my gratitude for their support of the "Green Funnel' initiative and their contribution to making these tankers a reality," he said.
The SCF Aframax defeated a shortlist that featured an autonomous feeder containership, plus shuttle tanker concepts from AET and Teekay.
This award was launched in 2011 and this year, it was combined with the Energy Efficiency Award and opened to existing ships built since the last Nor-Shipping exhibition in 2017, to older ships which have undergone retrofit or conversion, and to newbuildings scheduled to be delivered over the next five years.
‘Gagarin Prospect’ was delivered by Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries in July, 2018 and is on timecharter to Shell for up to 10 years. She is the first of an initial order of six vessels, as part of SCF’s ‘Green Funnel’ initiative.
This project was launched in partnership with Shell to introduce LNG as a primary fuel for large-capacity tankers and, in general, for vessels not tied to fixed routes or set timetables.
With her Ice Class 1A hull, ‘Gagarin Prospect’ was designed for year-round export operations from areas with challenging ice conditions. She is equipped with ice radars and spotlights, ensuring full compliance with the recently introduced Polar Code. Her main engines, auxiliaries, and boilers are dual fuel and today, the ship runs regularly on LNG.
She is fitted with a low-pressure X-DF dual fuel engine, to minimise emissions of particulate matter. When not using LNG fuel, the installation of selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology enables her to comply with the Tier III regulations governing NOx emissions.