December 22, 1997. - LUKOIL's sea fleet on December 19 received a ship which is the company's first ice-going tanker.

The ship was handed over to LUKOIL at a ceremony at the MTW Schiffswerft GmbH shipyard in Wismar, Germany.

The ship received its name of Perm, after a Russian city, during a naming ritual performed by Marina Trutneva, wife of the Perm mayor.

The tanker, designed for carrying crude and oil products in the Arctic, comprises seven double-hulled holds. It is 145 meters long and 22.5 meters wide and has a capacity of 16,000 tonnes. It can develop a speed of up to 14.4 knots (about 26 kilometers per hour). At a speed of 2 knots it can break a layer of ice up to 40 centimeters thick. It needs 19 crew.

Altogether LUKOIL has ordered five tankers in Wismar. The last one is to be ready before the end of 1999. The second one, to have the same characteristics as the Perm, is due to be finished in February 1988 and will be named Volgograd. Traditionally, LUKOIL ships are named after cities where the company has its enterprises.

The Admiralty shipyard in St. Petersburg has contracted to build another three ice-going tankers for LUKOIL. The construction of the first one started on December 10, 1997, and is to be finished by 2000.

"Ice tankers will help supply oil products to the northern regions of Russia," said LUKOIL Vice President Anatoly Barkov. He also said having a tanker fleet of its own would enable the company to reduce its transportation expenses.

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