EU Imposes First-Ever Sanctions On Yamal Gas Project Targeting ‘Christophe de Margerie’ LNG Carrier

The EU’s 15th sanctions package against Russia for the first time targets Yamal LNG by including a carrier in service of the project. 

The ice-capable tanker Christophe de Margerie, one of fifteen Arc7 ice-class carriers built for Yamal LNG, was included in the package adopted in Brussels today. The vessel, named after France’s TotalEnergies’ former CEO, remains affiliated with Russian shipping operated Sovcomflot though direct ownership is now through an entity, Zelitiko Shipping, in the UAE. 

Previous rounds of sanctions by both the U.S. and the EU targeting Russia’s LNG sector were aimed at blocking expansion of future production capacity but had thus far shied away from including any LNG carriers working for Novatek’s Yamal project. Since the end of 2017 the project has delivered around 100 million tons of LNG to Europe. 

The sanctioning of Christophe de Margerie continues the EU’s efforts to inch toward phasing out Russian LNG. Additional measures are expected in the 16th sanctions package as early as January 2025. 

The loss of Christophe de Margerie as part of the Yamal project’s fleet will become especially relevant when the EU’s transshipment ban on Russian LNG takes effect at the end of March 2025. 

At that point EU terminals, primarily Belgium’s Zeebrugge and France’s Montoir, will no longer be available to transfer LNG from ice-capable carriers to conventional tankers, thus increasing the sailing distance for the ice-capable fleet or requiring ship-to-ship transfers.

Christophe de Margerie had already been faced with maintenance challenges as Western suppliers and shipyards Damen Shiprepair in France and Fayard A/S in Denmark, where much of the Arc7 fleet receives regular dry dock services, no longer welcomed the vessel. 

But industry insiders expected the vessel to continue to be able to participate in shorter ship-to-ship operations this winter. With the vessel now formally sanctioned it will likely no longer be able to carry any gas from Yamal LNG as buyers even outside the EU will be hesitant to touch its cargo. 

A similar situation has developed surrounding Russia’s LNG shadow fleet carrying product from Arctic LNG 2. None of the vessels have been able to find buyers for the chilled gas they are carrying and the fleet continues to idle in the Barents Sea and the Sea of Japan.

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