Arctic offshore vessel NB 507 was named after Russian Navigator Aleksey Chirikov at Arctech Helsinki Shipyard 11 April 2013. The vessel will be delivered to the largest Russian shipping company Sovcomflot the next week and it will continue its path straight to Sakhalin area in Far East Russia, where it will supply the Arkutun-Dagi oil and gas field.

Arctech has built two arctic offshore supply vessels for Russian company Sovcomflot, which specialises in hydrocarbon transportation from Arctic and subarctic regions with challenging icy conditions. The order was received in December 2010. The first vessel of the series, NB 506 Vitus Bering was delivered to the client in December 2012 and it has reached its destination in March 2013. The main purpose for these vessels is to supply the Arkutun-Dagi oil and gas production platform and to protect it from the ice. The vessel type has been designed for extreme environmental conditions and will be operating in thick drifting ice in temperatures as cold as minus 35°C. The icebreaking capability of the vessel is extremely high, it is able to operate independently in 1.7m thick ice.

The Naming Ceremony of NB 507 Aleksey Chirikov was held according to old traditions at Helsinki Shipyard. The ceremony was attended by the President of the Republic of Finland Sauli Niinistö, the Ambassador of Russian Federation Alexander Rumyantsev, Ambassador of the Rebuplic of Korea Dongsun Park and the top management of Sovcomflot, Arctech and its owners STX Finland and United Shipbuilding Corporation. The naming was done by the Godmother of the vessel Elena Korniychuk, Chief Accountant of Sovcomflot Arctic.

"Vitus Bering and Aleksey Chirikov are the result of excellent co-operation between Arctech and Sovcomlot. These state-of-the-art multifunctional icebreaking supply vessels can be utilized in many arctic areas in the future and I see a global need for such Arctic vessels", says the Managing Director of Arctech Helsinki Shipyard, Esko Mustamäki.

"This vessel, bearing the name Aleksey Chirikov, will operate in the Far Eastern seas in a region that has been gaining increasing economic importance for Russia over the last several years. The ongoing development of projects on the continental shelf in the Far East with the active involvement of Russian companies will allow Russia to further strengthen its positions in the rapidly expanding Asia-Pacific region. The construction of vessels like Aleksey Chirikov is fully in line with the Sovcomflot strategy to expand company participation in industrial projects on Russia’s continental shelf. Aleksey Chirikov and Vitus Bering bring together the very latest innovations in shipbuilding science and technology and are in high demand from both Russian and international oil and gas companies", comments Sergey Frank, President of OAO Sovcomflot.

Both vessels for Sovcomflot will be similar measuring 99.9m in length and 21.7m in breadth. Their four engines have the total power of 18,000kW and the propulsion power of 13,000kW. As multipurpose vessels, these vessels are capable of carrying various type of cargo and they are equipped for oil combating, fire fighting, and rescue operations.