On September 11, a stamp dedicated to the contemporary commercial fleet of Russia was put into postal circulation

The year of 2023 is marked by an important date in the history of the shipping industry of our country: the 50th Anniversary of the beginning of commercial operations of the marine fleet of Russia on bare-boat chartering of foreign tonnage with subsequent redemption of vessels into the ownership of the state. On March 22 of 1973, Alexey Kosygin, the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, agreed upon the conduct of the stated commercial operations of the Soviet marine fleet on the international freight market. That decision that was innovative under the conditions of the planned Soviet economy gave an additional impetus to the development of the trading marine fleet of our country and actually became the starting point of Sovcomflot operations.

The first vessels acquired under the new scheme were two dry bulk carriers - Sovfracht and Sovinflot - with a deadweight of about 40,000 tons each. Sovcomflot became the first domestic shipping company established in accordance with international standards and the global practice. Currently, Sovcomflot is one of the world's largest energy carriers with its one of the most up-to-date and high-tech fleets in the world, as well as unique competences in Arctic shipping.

The postage stamp provides images of the Yamalmax-class LNG tanker Alexey Kosygin, which is the headmost ship in a series of 15 large-capacity tankers using liquefied natural gas as the main fuel. On September 11, a naming ceremony was held at the Zvezda Shipyard (Bolshoy Kamen, Primorsk Territory).

The new vessel (with the length of 284.8 m and the breadth of 48.8 m, the deadweight of 98.5 thousand tons, cargo capacity of 172.6 thousand m3, ice class Arc7, and propulsion power of 45 MW) is designed in compliance with the highest standards of environmental safety and convention restrictions.

The vessels of this series will ensure year-round navigation in the eastern sector of the Arctic from regions with complicated ice conditions, including the Arctic seas and the Arctic LNG 2 project terminal located in the Gulf of Ob Bay on the coast of the Gydan Peninsula. The start of their operation will accelerate the implementation of national plans to increase cargo traffic in the waters of the Northern Sea Route. Many years of Sovcomflot experience in the technical operation of large-capacity vessels under complex ice conditions provided the basis for their design. The engineering solutions chosen for this series will ensure that the new ships would have better ice-breaking capability and maneuverability under the ice environment in the Arctic sea basin as compared to the Yamal LNG project vessels. All ships of the new series will be registered under the State Flag of the Russian Federation and fully manned by Russian crews.

In addition to the issue of the postage stamp, JSC Marka produced First Day Covers and special cancels for Moscow, St. Petersburg and Vladivostok.


Artist: A. Zoteeva; Design: N. Karpova
Face value: 63 rubles.
Stamp size: 37×37 mm; sheet size: 131×137 mm.
Emission form: a sheet with formatted margins with 9 (3×3) stamps.
Quantity: 90 thousand stamps (10 thousand sheets).

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