Russia expanding its shadow fleet for liquefied natural gas exports - Bloomberg
Illustrative photo: Russia is expanding its shadow fleet for liquefied natural gas exports (Getty Images)
Four liquefied natural gas tankers, which until recently serviced Oman’s export terminal, have begun loading fuel from Russia’s sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project, according to Bloomberg.
Last week, the tanker Kosmos docked at the sanctioned floating storage unit Saam near Murmansk and departed with a deeper draft, indicating it had taken on cargo. Three other vessels — Merkuriy, Orion, and Luch — also approached Saam or are preparing to berth there. This is another step by Moscow to expand exports in circumvention of Western restrictions.
Merkuriy has already loaded fuel and is currently heading across the Atlantic, likely toward Asia. Orion and Luch are located near the storage facility.
All four vessels show characteristics of a shadow fleet: they are older than typical LNG carriers currently in operation and have recently been transferred to obscure companies.
Photo: According to vessel data, the LNG tanker Kosmos LNG (white) took on cargo from the US-sanctioned vessel Saam FSU (blue). Kosmos was previously known as Cagri LNG (Bloomberg).
Kosmos changed its flag, name, and ownership earlier this year — it is now owned by Hong Kong-based Mighty Ocean Shipping. Orion and Merkuriy were transferred to Celtic Maritime & Trading SA, while Luch went to Russia’s Abakan LLC. Previously, all four vessels were managed by Oman’s Oman Ship Management Co.
According to Bloomberg analysis, at least 20 tankers are now being used to transport LNG from sanctioned Russian projects. One of them was attacked in March and taken out of service.
Russia is trying to capitalize on the rising demand for liquefied natural gas in Asia — the closure of the Strait of Hormuz reduced one-fifth of global supplies and drove up fuel prices.
In 2023, the US imposed sanctions on Arctic LNG 2 and related vessels. After that, the plant suspended large-scale production in October 2024.
Russia has been expanding a shadow fleet to resume supplies — ice-class vessels and tankers with changed management have been used to service Arctic LNG 2 in order to conceal ownership.
Fully shutting down such structures has proven difficult — companies are adapting to sanctions pressure faster than new restrictions are introduced.
