Primorsk Shipping Corporation in cooperation with Japanese companies Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd (MOL), Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd (K Line) included into Corporation MOL/K Line/PRISCO, established for joint operation of LNG vessel has won tender for transportation of liquefied natural gas (LNG). MOL/K Line/PRISCO entered into Contract with Sakhalin Energy Investment Company for long-term charter of one new LNG tanker. Sakhalin Energy – Operator of Sakhalin-II Project was established in 1994 for development of Piltun-Astokhskoye and Lunskoye oil and gas fields on island shelf in Sea of Okhotsk. Gas will be transported from the Loading Terminal near Prigorodnoye village, Sakhalin. On terms of the Contract with Sakhalin Energy Corporation MOL/K Line/PRISCO will build a vessel with ice-strengthened hull at the Japanese Shipyard Mitsui Engineering and Shipbuilding. LNG vessel of 147,200 ?3 capacity will be delivered in 2008. Mr. Sergey Popravko, General Director of PRISCO believes, «…Sakhalin Energy’s choice of MOL/K Line/ PRISCO was based on the competitive offer and high safety level of transportations provided by joint experience of Russian – Japanese Consortium. This event is a great honour for PRISCO as well as great responsibility. Gas transportation is a new direction of shipping market for us. And we are pleased to realize that PRISCO will be among the earliest explorers at the domestic market as there are no analogues to gas transportations in Russia, it was transported only through pipelines”. As Mr. S. Popravko says participation in this Project in cooperation with MOL and K Line will allow PRISCO to obtain experience of delivery of crude products according to innovation technologies, add new impulse to PRISCO business. Far Eastern region is considered as traditional area for PRISCO shipping, it has been successfully developed for more than thirty years. PRISCO has highly qualified and well-experienced specialists who can work with cargoes in difficult north conditions, including Sakhalin Island. PRISCO successfully cooperates with Companies – Project Operators: for some recent years Company tankers have been transporting crude oil from Vitiaz Oil Terminal extracted by Sakhalin Energy within Sakhalin-II Project, in 2003 Primorsk Shipping Corporation won tender of Exxon Neftegas Limited for transportation of Sakhalin-I Project oil. Now PRISCO fleet consists of 40 tankers, including large-tonnage vessels of 108,000 tons dwt. with ice-strengthened hulls meeting the highest safety requirements. PRISCO Management and fleet have been certified by Russian Maritime Register of Shipping and Det Norske Veritas for compliance with the International Safety Management Code and ISPS Code, standards ISO-9001:2000, ISO-14001:1996. In 2004 two new Aframaxes of 108,000 tons dwt. were included into PRISCO fleet, in 2005 three more tankers of 100,000 tons dwt will be built at Hyundai Heavy Industries for transportation of Sakhalin oil. Also PRISCO has already entered into Contract with this Shipyard for building of two tankers – Suezmaxes of 166,000 tons dwt.