Russia’s newly started Yamal LNG project is asking for vessels in its specialised ice-breaking LNG carrier fleet to be delivered early as it moves to bring a second liquefaction train onstream ahead of schedule.

Project insiders say the Novatek-led liquefaction project is pursuing an aggressive ramp-up of its first 5.5 million tonnes per annum liquefaction train and expects to start up the second in the third quarter of this year.