On 12 October in London, a meeting was held between the SCF Management and Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Kitack Lim.

Callum Ludgate, Managing Director of Sovcomflot (UK) and a member of the Board of Directors of PAO Sovcomflot, represented the SCF Group. The meeting was also attended by: Azara Prempeh, Chief of Staff, Executive Office of the Secretary-General of the IMO; Yury Melenas, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the IMO, and Grigory Alexandrov, Director of Projects and Business Development, Sovcomflot (UK).

Managing Director of Sovcomflot (UK) informed Secretary General about the work SCF conducts in the sphere of emission reduction in line with IMO’s ambition to decarbonise the maritime transport and achieve zero emissions by 2050. He elaborated on three years of SCF experience in operating LNG-powered tankers of the ‘Green Funnel’ series.

During the meeting, a model of Gagarin Prospect tanker, the world’s first LNG-fuelled Aframax, was presented to the IMO. The model will be installed at the IMO headquarters as a successful example of the implementation of modern engineering solutions in the maritime industry.

The possibility of using LNG as marine fuel is provided for almost all of Sovcomflot newbuilding vessels. The company has five LNG-fuelled tankers under construction and six LNG-fuelled tankers in operation.

In the welcome address sent to IMO by Sovcomflot the company stated:

“The use of LNG as a marine fuel is the most optimal engineering solution in the short and medium term in compliance with the current international standards for reducing air emissions during ship operation. Sovcomflot strives to systematically reduce the human impact on the environment, and actively cooperates with IMO in this area, paying special attention to the climate agenda and trying to implement environmentally friendly technologies. SCF is constantly exploring the possibilities of using alternative fuels and technologies to reduce the carbon footprint in the marine areas of its presence.”