Financial Times: Russia is expanding its 'shadow fleet' of LNG…
Financial Times: Russia is expanding its 'shadow fleet' of LNG carriers. Russia is expanding its 'shadow fleet' to transport liquefied natural gas (LNG) in preparation for the European Union's ban on importing Russian LNG, which will take effect in 2027.
Consensus
- Russia has expanded its shadow fleet for transporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) to 25 vessels over the past six months.
- The expansion includes at least eight used LNG carriers and two new tankers built at the 'Zvezda' shipyard.
- The fleet is operated through companies linked to Russia, registered in Dubai, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
- The ships use methods such as disabling tracking systems and transferring cargo between vessels to conceal the origin of goods.
- This effort is in preparation for the EU's ban on importing Russian LNG, which will take effect on January 1, 2027.
- The EU's 21st sanctions package originally included a ban on transporting Russian LNG to third countries, but this was dropped due to opposition from Greece.
Points of divergence
- Russia acquired eight used LNG carriers and two new ones built at the 'Zvezda' shipbuilding yard. — tg_echoonline_news
- The two new LNG carriers are the Arc7 ice-class vessels 'Aleksey Kosygin' and 'Konstantin Posyet'. — tg_theinsider
- The main buyer of LNG from the 'Arctic LNG 2' project is China, and shipments are transferred from floating terminals to regular tankers for delivery. — meduza
- In April 2024, Novatek suspended production at the 'Arctic LNG 2' project due to sanctions and lack of tankers. — meduza
- Four recently acquired ships—'Kosmos', 'Orion', 'Merkuriy', and 'Luch'—have already been used for transporting Russian LNG through terminals bypassing Western restrictions. — tg_dwglavnoe
- The new LNG carriers are technologically complex and cost around $300 million each. — tg_theinsider
Coverage (5 sources)
- Russia expands its 'shadow fleet' to maintain LNG export volumes after EU sanctions tighten - FT — DW Главное
- Russia has increased its shadow fleet for transporting liquefied natural gas ahead of the ban on its import into Europe... — ЭХО / Новости
- Financial Times: Russia expands 'shadow fleet' of gas carriers — Радио Свобода
- Russia expanded its 'shadow fleet' of LNG carriers to 25 vessels ahead of the complete ban on exports to the EU — FT — The Insider
- FT: Russia expands 'shadow fleet' of tankers for liquefied natural gas transport ahead of supply ban — Meduza