China’s Pacific Gas Denies Role in Russian LNG Transfer

By Stephen Stapczynski (Bloomberg) — A liquefied natural gas tanker off Malaysia that appears to be receiving fuel from a sanctioned Russian vessel is owned by Chinese shipping firm Pacific Gas, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Satellite images taken on Oct. 18 and Oct. 23 show the Chinese LNG tanker, CCH Gas, immediately parallel to the Perle, a ship carrying LNG fuel from Russia’s Portovaya plant, which was blacklisted by the US in January. The Perle itself was also sanctioned at the time. The position of the two vessels is typical of a ship-to-ship transfer, which can take several days.

Pacific Gas, a firm with offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore, took over ownership of CCH Gas earlier this year, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing a sensitive matter. The company is primarily the owner of liquid petroleum gas vessels.

In a statement to Bloomberg, Pacific Gas denied that it had ownership or control of the CCH Gas LNG tanker. 

“Pacific Gas conducts its business in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations and maintains internal standards to ensure compliance with international sanctions requirements,” the company said. Pacific Gas is a unit of state-owned Shandong Marine Energy Group.

The transfer to CCH Gas would be the first documented occurrence of a Chinese-owned vessel assisting with the transport of blacklisted Russian LNG, and as such is a test of the White House’s measures to curb Moscow’s energy revenues. 

China began importing US-sanctioned Russian LNG in late August, a move that coincided with a visit to Beijing by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Moscow has a longstanding agreement with Beijing to supply gas via overland pipelines that isn’t subject to US measures.

In its quarterly earnings report on Tuesday, Pacific Gas said it owned a single LNG vessel as of September. In its previous report, it said it didn’t own any LNG vessels.

CCH Gas, previously known as Condor LNG, was owned by Greek shipping firm TMS Cardiff Gas until earlier in 2025, according to shipping database Equasis.

In an emailed statement, Cardiff Gas confirmed that the vessel had been sold, though it didn’t name the buyer. Cardiff Gas said it didn’t sell the vessel to Pacific Gas. It is common for dark-fleet tankers to change ownership multiple times before landing on the ship’s ultimate operator.

A Hong Kong-based firm called CCH-1 Shipping Co. has been registered as the owner of CCH Gas since May, according to Equasis. Its address is listed as a postbox company, Samxin Secretarial Services Ltd., in a industrial building in the city. 

On visiting the company, a Bloomberg reporter found the door locked with no-one available to comment.

CCH Gas had been idling off the coast of Singapore and Malaysia since around February, according to ship-tracking and satellite images. The vessel secured a crew around the end of August or early September, people with knowledge of the matter said. 

It then moved to its current location in eastern Malaysia in October. The ship’s signaling is currently masking its whereabouts, a common practice by shadow-fleet vessels engaged in illicit trade.

© 2025 Bloomberg L.P.

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