Sovcomflot’s 17th annual Business Partners Conference held in Saint Petersburg
On 30 May 2018, the 17th annual conference of business partners of PAO Sovcomflot (SCF Group) was held in Saint Petersburg. The event was scheduled to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the establishment of Sovcomflot as a joint-stock company, among the very first such companies in the history of the Soviet planned economy and modern Russia.
SCF says the conference was attended by guests representing major Russian and international oil and gas companies, Russian ministries and governmental agencies, shipping and shipbuilding companies, investment and financial institutions, insurance and law firms, as well as energy and transportation markets analysts.
In his speech, Viktor Olersky noted the major contribution of Sovcomflot to raising professional standards within the Russian maritime industry. “Sovcomflot continues to invest in the development of Russian maritime education, both through supporting our maritime training academies and by ensuring the continuing professional development of its personnel. Overall, it does much to popularize the maritime profession, whilst encouraging the education of young people in Russia’s best maritime traditions. We are delighted to note that all three Russian merchant marine universities benefit from Sovcomflot’s valuable support,” the Deputy Minister said.
In her welcome message, Valentina Matvienko, Chair of the Federation Council, noted the company's constant striving for technological leadership and a steady adoption of the most advanced technologies into its shipping operations:
“Management of the joint-stock company pays considerable attention to the development of innovative technologies and equipment modernisation, the quality of fleet management and enhancing the intellectual potential of employees. I am sure that Sovcomflot will keep on directing its activities at the development of the Russian transportation industry, and helping Russia increase its competitiveness on the global market.”
Addressing the guests of the conference Kirill Molodtsov, Russia’s Deputy Minister of Energy, noted that for Russia’s energy industry, Sovcomflot has become first-class provider of stable and safe energy delivery, as well as reliable contractor in the servicing of offshore oil and gas exploration and production.
“Since 2006, Sovcomflot has become an integral part of all successfull large-scale oil and gas projects with a maritime component in the Russian Arctic and the Russian Far East. From 2006 until the beginning of May 2018, Sovcomflot's vessels have safely transported about 226 million tonnes of crude oil for these projects, which is comparable to the annual oil exports of the Russian Federation.”
The company's captains, crews and onshore personnel have always been a key element of the company's success. Addressing the participants of the conference Sergey Frank, President and CEO of Sovcomflot, expressed particular gratitude to the Sovcomflot team:
“On the eve of the anniversary we offer a special word of thanks to the company's veterans, captains and crews of Sovcomflot's ships and shore personnel. Your high level of professionalism, responsible attitude towards your duties, constant striving to solve the tasks set by the company's founders in the safest and most qualitative way have to date been a hallmark of Sovcomflot.”
At the conference, Viktor Olersky presented several of Sovcomflot’s employees with state awards. Under the Decree of President of Russia No. 93 dated 2 March 2018, Igor Tonkovidov, Executive Vice President - COO & CTO of Sovcomflot, was awarded the Order for Naval Merit, and Sergey Gen, Master of the LNG carrier Christophe de Margerie, received the Medal of the Order of Merit for the Motherland, for their major contribution to the introduction of Christophe de Margerie, the world’s first ice-breaking LNG carrier.
At the conference, Sovcomflot Group and Sail Training International (STI) signed agreements for the international tall ships regatta to be held in 2019-2020 in the Black Sea and the Russian Far East Sea Basins. The competition programme involves the participation of Russian tall ships and visits to Russian ports by the participating ships.
PAO Sovcomflot (SCF Group) is Russia’s largest shipping company, as well as a global leader in the maritime transportation of hydrocarbons and the servicing of offshore oil and gas exploration and production. The company’s own and chartered fleet includes 146 vessels with a total deadweight of 12.6 million tonnes. Half of the vessels have an ice class.
Sovcomflot is involved in servicing large oil and gas projects in Russia and around the world: Sakhalin-1; Sakhalin-2; Varandey; Prirazlomnoye; Novy Port; Yamal LNG, and Tangguh (Indonesia). The company is headquartered in Saint Petersburg, with offices in Moscow, Novorossiysk, Murmansk, Vladivostok, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, London, Limassol, and Dubai.
