Sovcomflot (SCF Group) has ordered its first tankers at the new Zvezda Shipbuilding Complex in Russia.

The Russian company said it was using VEB Group financing to fund the deal, which will see the 114,000-dwt aframaxes chartered to domestic energy company Rosneft for 20 years.

The LNG-powered vessels are described as "next-generation large-capacity", with ice class 1A/1B notations, which makes them able to operate all year round in areas with difficult ice conditions, including sub-Arctic seas and Russian ports of the Baltic region.