The icebreaking LNG carrier Vladimir Rusanov conducts the first ship-to-ship transfer of liquified natural gas produced at the Yamal LNG project at the port of Honningsvåg, Norway, in November 2018. Photo: SCF Group
Just days after the EU banned the transshipment of Russian liquefied natural gas, Russia deployed four LNG carriers for an unusual double ship-to-ship transfer at the Kildin anchorage near Murmansk. The vessels are carrying supercooled gas from the Yamal LNG project operated by Russian company Novatek.
The ice-capable Arc7 LNG carriers Nikolay Urvantsev and Vladimir Rusanov, both controlled by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd, rendezvoused with the lower-ice class vessels Lena River and Clean Vision, under management of Dynagas. AIS data and satellite images show the four vessels pairing up just south of Kildin island between March 28 and March 31. An STS transfer routinely takes around 36-48 hours.
Lena River departed from China more than three months ago at the end of December 2024. The vessel subsequently idled for weeks in the North, Celtic and Barents Seas. Clean Vision left from Mirs Bay near Shenzhen at the end of February. Nikolay Urvantsev and Vladimir Rusanov both departed from the Yamal LNG plant around a week ago.
Since early 2020 Novatek has transferred the majority of reloaded LNG at the Fluxys terminal in Zeebrugge, Belgium, with additional volume coming out of Montoir, France. Since March 27 that option is no longer available. EU terminals are now off limits under the 14th sanctions package.
Prior to 2020 Novatek also relied on STS operations in northern Norway near Honningsvåg where it transshipped several dozen cargos between 2018 and 2020. That option became increasingly untenable politically with U.S. officials expressing their dismay over the transfers.
Under normal operations the Kildin transfer point is primarily used during winter season to shorten the distance the Arc7 LNG tankers have to travel. Reloading at Kildin rather than in Zeebrugge shaves around 4-5 days off a roundtrip for the Arc7 vessels.
In the past five years the company completed around a dozen STS at the site annually. That number is expected to increase rapidly. In the first three months of 2025 data by trade intelligence firm Kpler shows already 13 transfers, including last weekend’s double transshipment.
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