BOLSHOY KAMEN, November 15. /TASS /. The Zvezda shipyard has commissioned the steel cutting for a second 114,000-tonne deadweight (DWT) Aframax tanker. Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin and Acting Head of the Primorsky Region, Oleg Kozhemyako, attended the ceremony.

The event marked the serial production launch of state-of-the-art, crude oil tankers at the Zvezda shipyard. According to Rosneft, Aframaxes will be the first vessels of its kind constructed in Russia. The lead ship is expected to set sail in 2020.

"Tankers will be powered by two types of fuel, including gas, meeting the recent environmental requirements. The vessels are designed to cover an unlimited sailing area, and will ship crude oil and petroleum products, specifically via the Northern Sea Route," the Rosneft CEO noted.