Bloomberg: Tankers carrying Russian sanctioned LNG head to Asia in search of buyers

Several liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers have departed Russia's Arctic LNG 2 plant in Siberia for Asia despite US sanctions. About writes Bloomberg, citing ship tracking data.

The vessels in question are the Iris and Voskhod, which on August 15 entered the Northern Sea Route towards North Asia after several weeks of inactivity.

Two other tankers that loaded gas on Arctic LNG 2 also started moving towards Asia last week.

Arctic LNG 2, operated by Novatek, is key to Russia's plans to triple its LNG exports by 2030 and reorient supplies after a sharp drop in pipeline gas exports to Europe.

Washington has not yet imposed new restrictions on Russian gas buyers, including China. This is due to negotiations on a possible end to the war in Ukraine.

Last summer, Arctic LNG 2 shipped eight batches of gas, but in October the plant shut down due to a lack of buyers and seasonal freezing of the water.

In June, the company resumed loading, but no tanker has delivered gas to the terminals yet.

Bloomberg notes that it is unclear whether buyers will be found for the four ships already on their way to Asia.

• In August 2024, the United States sanctions against LNG tankers were imposed which probably belong to the Russian shadow fleet.
• In September, the United Kingdom imposed sanctions against five vessels and two related companies involved in the transportation of Russian LNG, in particular from the Arctic LNG 2 project.
• On June 30, Bloomberg wrote that Russia is trying to expand LNG exports from the Arctic LNG 2 project which was suspended due to Western sanctions.