Russia Expands LNG Dark Fleet With Four Tankers to Boost Exports

By Stephen Stapczynski

May 18, 2026 (Bloomberg) –Four liquefied natural gas tankers that until recently serviced Oman’s export plant are beginning to load fuel from a US-sanctioned Russian project, the latest sign of Moscow’s efforts to boost shipments and skirt Western restrictions.

The Kosmos docked over the weekend alongside the blacklisted Saam floating storage unit near Murmansk in western Russia before later departing with a deeper draft, a sign that it had taken on a cargo, according to ship-tracking data. Three other former Omani vessels — Merkuriy, Orion and Luch — have also picked up from Saam or are positioning to dock there, ship data shows.

Saam stores fuel produced by the US-sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 plant, which is only accessible to vessels with ice-breaking capability for most of the year. Shipping is the key bottleneck for Russia’s fuel trapped in its northern region, and the extra tankers could allow the nation to expand its exports. 

Kosmos earlier this year switched to the Russian flag, changed its name and shifted ownership to a little-known company. Merkuriy picked up fuel from Saam earlier this month, and is currently in the Atlantic likely heading to Asia, Orion is heading to the project, while Luch is also nearby, ship data shows.

The developments mean that there are now at least 20 tankers being used to ferry LNG from sanctioned Russian projects, according to Bloomberg analysis of tracking data. One of those was attacked in March, and is out of service.

That comes as Moscow tries to capitalize on high LNG demand across Asia as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz chokes off a fifth of global supply and sends fuel prices higher.

Read More: Russia Offers Sanctioned LNG to Energy-Hungry Asia at a Discount

The four vessels display hallmarks of dark fleet vessels: they’re older than typical LNG carriers still in service and had recently been transferred to companies not well known in the industry.

The Kosmos changed ownership to Hong Kong-based Mighty Ocean Shipping Ltd. in February, the Luch to Russia-based Abakan LLC in April, and the Orion and Merkuriy to Celtic Maritime & Trading SA in February, according to Equasis. The four ships were previously owned or managed by Oman Ship Management Co.

Mighty Ocean didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, while contact information for Celtic Maritime & Trading and Abakan weren’t promptly available.

© 2026 Bloomberg L.P.

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This article contains reporting from Bloomberg, published under license.

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