Russian LNG-Gorskaya LLC has inked a contract with the compatriot shipyard United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) for the construction of the country's first three LNG bunkering tankers.

The order constitutes part of a plan to order up to 9 bunkering units intended for delivering fuel from an LNG plant being built at Gorskaya station near Saint-Petersburg. The plant is expected to have an annual capacity of 1.26 million tons of LNG.

The three tankers with capacity of 7,300cbm each are worth a total of RUB5.67bn (around US$106m) and are scheduled for delivery in 2017.

The ships will feature a number of innovative solutions including GTT LNG storage technology.

LNG-Gorskaya LLC plans to use its LNG bunkering fleet to deliver LNG to European consumers and to bunker vessels in the water area of the Gulf of Finland.

Aside of the floating LNG plant and the bunkering vessels, the project purports the construction pier, loading rack and gas pipeline, as well as the creation of several LNG terminals in Finland, Germany and Sweden.

The complex is expected to commence operations and start selling LNG by the end of 2017.