ABB provides 24/7 remote diagnostics to Sovcomflot’s trailblazing LNG tanker

Photo: Sovcomflot Arctic LNG tanker, Christophe de Margerie sailing through ice
Sovcomflot Arctic LNG tanker, Christophe de Margerie
ABB reports that it has added Sovcomflot’s Azipod-equipped icebreaking LNG carrier Christophe de Margerie - which last month completed a landmark early-season transit of the Northern Sea Route - to the list of vessels using its ABB Ability remote diagnostics services.

Available 24/7 through the company’s global network of eight Collaborative Operations Centres, the remote services utilise advanced data analytics to enhance operational safety and ensure optimal performance, says the company, while helping to promptly detect and correct faults on board.  

“This latest development in our long cooperation with Sovcomflot is another major step forward in our ‘Electric. Digital. Connected.’ strategy,” commented ABB Marine & Ports md Juha Koskela, “real-time support for a sophisticated vessel such as Christophe de Margerie demonstrating that our connected expertise can be delivered in full, no matter how remote the location.”

Like her sister ships servicing Yamal LNG, the 172,600 cu m Sovcomflot vessel is equipped with three of the largest Azipod propulsion units ever produced by ABB, enabling the vessel to navigate safely through ice up to 2.1 m thick. 

The ARC7 ice-class tanker made history in 2017 as the first merchant vessel to cross the full length of the Northern Sea Route without icebreaker assistance, and last month completed a transit of the same route carrying Yamal LNG cargo bound for China two months earlier in the summer season than usual.