Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. said Monday that it has obtained a 339.3 billion won ($317.2 million) order to build an icebreaking LNG carrier from Russia’s state-run shipper Sovcomflot, the world’s first order for such a vessel.

The South Korean company said it will deliver the vessel by the end of June 2016.

The carrier will be used in developing a gas field on the Yamal Peninsula, western Siberia, by a joint venture among Russian, French and Chinese firms, Daewoo Shipbuilding said. It is the first of the 16 icebreaking LNG carriers Daewoo has signed a contract to provide, making the total project worth some $5 billion, according to the company.

Daewoo Shipbuilding already signed last July what is called a slot reservation agreement, which reserves docks for future vessel construction.

It previously succeeded in building a carrier that would survive extreme temperatures of as low as minus 52 degrees Celsius. (Yonhap)