Bloomberg: China likely wants to create its own shadow fleet for LNG from Russia

China wants to continue importing Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) despite the sanctions, and is likely to create its own shadow fleet for this purpose. This was reported by Bloomberg .

The agency noted that China has sufficient pipeline gas and is cheaper, but that alternative maritime supplies could further diversify and strengthen ties with Russia.

Although the implementation of the idea is still at an early stage, the movement of tankers and their ownership structure in China are beginning to reflect the trends observed when Russia was creating its shadow fleet.

For example, the LNG tanker CCH Gas, carrying Russian cargo, conceals its location as it approaches a Chinese port, according to satellite and shipping data. Its registered owner, CCH-1 Shipping Co. has an address in Hong Kong that matches the address of the postal company Samxin Secretarial Services Ltd. Bloomberg noted that this is a common practice for companies seeking to hide the beneficial owner when trading fuel from Iran or Russia.

However, the creation of a shadow fleet for LNG transportation will be more difficult than for oil, as it is a more complex transportation technology, and because there are fewer LNG tankers in the world and it will be difficult to hide their location.

• Chinese oil refiner Yanchang Petroleum, which used to regularly import Russian oil, , has put its purchases on hold after the US sanctions against Rosneft and Lukoil.
• Reuters also reported that such large companies as PetroChina, Sinopec, CNOOC and Zhenhua Oil have started avoiding purchases of Russian oil after the sanctions .