Vasily Dinkov (1924-2001) was the Minister of the Gas Industry of the USSR (1985-1989) and then the Minister of the Oil Industry of the USSR (1985-1989). He was also honoured as a Hero of Socialist Labour. Vasily Dinkov was a veteran of the Second World War. He began his career as a junior engineer and reached the top positions in the oil and gas industry. Under his supervision, major reforms in the national gas industry took place. He was Minister of the Oil Industry during a difficult period in its development. During his tenure he led a significant restructuring of the industry and facilitated a step-change in Russia’s oil production.
The first Russian Arctic shuttle tanker (70,000 tonnes deadweight) was named after Vasily Dinkov. She is the first in a series of three enhanced ice-class tankers, designed to transport oil from the Varandey oil field within the Arctic Circle. The tanker has been entered in the Russian International Shipping Register, with St. Petersburg being its port of registry and fly the Russian Federation flag.
