Mikhail-Ulyanov

Greenpeace activists have been threatened with a fine by a Dutch court if they block a Sovcomflot (SCF) shuttle tanker from delivering oil in Rotterdam. The environmental group faces a penalty of at least EUR 50,000 ($63,239) if it tries to prevent the 69,800-dwt Mikhail Ulyanov (built 2010) from berthing. SCF is involved in huge projects in the arctic and some of its vessels work for oil companies like Gazprom.With much of the world’s undiscovered oil resources lying in the region, Lord Fairfax of Cameron, director for SCF, told a UK parliamentary on Tuesday: “This is the game we are involved in.”Greenpeace has objected to arctic oil extraction due to fears of a spill and climate change.SCF is currently working on three projects in the region, providing shuttle tankers and icebreakers. Source : Tradewinds

Greenpeace activists tried to prevent the "Mikhail Ulyanov" from docking at the port of Rotterdam in the morning of May 1, 2014. The tanker carried a cargo of controversial Arctic cruide oil. The police stopped the protest by the environmental organization's vessel "Rainbow Warrior III" and detained about 30 activists on the wharf and on boats around the tanker. At least 100 activists and crew of the "Rainbow Warrior III" and the "Esperanza" were involved in the action. Also some paragliders hung above the tanker. When the "Rainbow Warrior III" refused to stop the blockade, the police towed the vessel away. Dutch report with photo: http://www.refdag.nl/nieuws/binnenland/olietanker_houdt_rotterdam_en_den_haag_bezig_1_824188

Shipment of first oil from Prirazlomnaya platform, Russia’s first offshore project on production of hydrocarbons in the Arctic, has commenced today, April 18, 2014, press center of Sovcomflot says. First shipload of oil is transported by the Arctic shuttle tanker Mikhail Ulyanov (Sovcomflot) which will operate together with the Kirill Lavrov tanker under long-term agreement between Sovcomflot and Gazprom Neft Shelf (Gazprom subsidiary operating the project). The start to the project was given by RF President Vladimir Putin who participated in the ceremony in the mode of the videoconference. Arctic-class ice-resistant oil platform Prirazlomnaya and two unique Arctic-class shuttle tankers of Sovcomflot together with the support vessels constitute a unique production and transportation complex capable of reliable and safe supply of up to 6 mln t of crude oil to the market operating round the year at extremely low temperature and in severe ice conditions of the Arctic Basin.