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Shell has signed time charter agreements with Russia's SCF Group (PAO Sovcomflot) for two dual-fuel Aframax tankers.

The 114,000-deadweight-tonne (dwt) vessels are part of a series of six SCF tankers - the world's first Aframax crude oil tankers to be powered by LNG - currently under construction and due for delivery between the third quarter of 2018 and the first quarter of 2019.

Under the agreement, the two vessels will be on time charter to Shell for up to 10 years, with a minimum commitment of five years.

The vessels are to also be refuelled by Shell's LNG bunker vessels, such as the recently launched Cardissa.

As Bunker Index previously reported, SCF signed an agreement with Shell Western LNG B.V. for the supply of LNG to the Aframax newbuilds in April 2017. The vessels will be primarily transporting crude oil and petroleum products in the Baltic region and northern Europe.

Last year's agreement marked the fulfilment of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between Shell and SCF in September 2015 to develop marine LNG fuelling for large-capacity tankers.

Shell will be refuelling SCF's vessels via a specialized LNG bunker vessel at the Gas Access to Europe (Gate) terminal in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and is set to provide further supply points across North West Europe and the Baltic as it expands its LNG fuelling infrastructure.

Each LNG-fuelled crude tanker will have an ice-class 1A hull, enabling year-round export operations from the Russian Baltic.

In addition to reducing emissions via the use of LNG, the selection of the low-pressure X-DF dual-fuel engine for these tankers is expected to minimize particulate matter emissions. Also, the engines will be fitted with selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology to comply with Tier III regulations governing NOx emissions when in gasoil fuel mode.

Commenting on the deal, Evgeny Ambrosov, Senior Executive Vice-President of SCF Group, said: "Together, SCF Group and Shell are leading the development and adoption of LNG as a fuel within the tanker industry, committed to significantly reducing the environmental footprint of energy shipping. After proper experience of operating LNG-fuelled vessels, SCF Group will share its feedback on their performance with Zvezda shipbuilding complex, a Russian facility that is envisaged to commence the domestic construction of such large-capacity LNG-fuelled tankers by 2021. At SCF Group, we have a strong sense of pride that Shell has chosen to partner with us in creating LNG-fuelled Aframax tankers."

Mark Quartermain, Vice-President, Shell Crude Trading, remarked: "LNG fuel will play a fundamental role in the future energy mix. Chartering and fuelling these vessels highlights Shell's commitment to LNG as emissions standards tighten. We look forward to continuing to build upon our strong relationship with SCF to support our trading operations in key areas."