Russia’s natural gas producer Novatek held its first Arctic LNG Projects Shipowners Conference in Moscow with stakeholders in Russian Arctic shipping attending.

Novatek says the following attended the conference:

• top management of the world’s major shipping companies;
• leading manufacturers of marine equipment;
• developers of state-of-the-art IT solutions for the marine industry.
• The parties involved paid particular attention to the promotion of green shipping, and the introduction of sustainable technical solutions.

The ultimate goal is to reduce the carbon footprint during marine operations in the region.

The conference also looked into navigation along the eastern route and crew training for Arctic vessels operations. This entails the cooperation between shipowners and Russia’s dedicated Arctic navigation training centers.

According to NOVATEK’s chairman of the management board Leonid Mikhelson, the conference enabled all stakeholders in Russian Arctic shipping to engage in a direct dialog on shipping in the region. He also stressed the first-hand updates on the most recent developments for the vessels’ energy efficiency.

“The created infrastructure and the accumulated unique experience in complex Arctic projects implementation, including hydrocarbons shipping, allow the company to achieve in the near future a significant increase in its LNG production, and subsequently the shipping volumes,” said Mikhelson in conclusion.