EU Delists Three Sanctioned MOL LNG Carriers After Assurances Vessels Will Not Carry Russian Arctic Gas

In what appears to be a first, the European Union has delisted three previously sanctioned Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) LNG carriers. The move comes as part of the EU’s 18th package of economic sanctions against Russia, which imposed measures against 105 additional shadow fleet vessels. 

The newbuilding LNG carriers North Moon, North Ocean, and North Light controlled by MOL were included in the 17th package two months earlier. 

Their inclusion was widely seen as an unexpected move by the EU significantly tightening sanctions against Russia’s liquefied natural gas sector. The vessels entered service just months ago with plans to carry product for Novatek’s Yamal LNG project. There was speculation the three carriers could also be deployed to lift cargoes from the sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project.

Following the vessels’ sanctioning, MOL, Japan’s second-largest shipping company, expressed dismay over their inclusion indicating that it would work with the relevant authorities to find a resolution.

“We will continue to fully cooperate with the relevant authorities, including the European Union and the Japanese government, and remain committed to complying with all applicable laws, regulations, and international rules,” a company statement said at the time. 

“We are not at all happy about this, so we are now lobbying the EU through various channels, including the Japanese government,” Chief Executive Officer Takeshi Hashimoto said in an interview at the end of May 2025. 

Those efforts appear to now have borne fruit as the details of the 18th sanctions package reveal the three vessels have been deleted from the EU register of sanctioned vessels. 

“Three LNG tankers have been delisted following firm commitments that these vessels will no longer engage in the transport of Russian energy to the Russian Yamal and Arctic 2 projects,” a European Commission press release reads. 

Such a reversal of sanctions against the Russian LNG sector is a first in the EU’s ongoing efforts to curtail the country’s energy sector.

Representatives for the European Union and MOL did not respond to requests for comment over the weekend or confirm what negotiations took place to permit the reversal of sanctions.

Since being sanctioned earlier this year North Moon, North Ocean, and North Light have seen limited activity. 

“I think those vessels will be unusable for some time to come,” Hashimoto said in May. “But, to be honest, they have been saying for a long time that the Yamal project is not subject to sanctions, and suddenly these ships are subject to sanctions.”

North Ocean had been en route to the Arctic at the time of its inclusion in the EU’s sanctions regime. The vessel completed a U-turn as it was passing the Canary Islands archipelago in May 2025 subsequently returning to Asia. It has remained idle outside Singapore since mid-June. It was joined earlier this week by sister ship North Light.

The vessels had been specifically constructed with a medium Arc4 ice-class to operate in the ice-covered waters of the Northern Sea Route. Their ice protection allows them to use the Arctic route into the spring and fall shoulder season when early or late-season sea ice makes the use of conventional LNG carriers unsafe.

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