Russian Arctic LNG Carrier ‘Alexey Kosygin’ May Be Awaiting Repairs at Chinese Shipyard

Russia’s newly delivered Arc7 ice-class LNG carrier Alexey Kosygin has spent nearly two weeks circling off China’s eastern coast after delivering a cargo from the sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project, raising questions over whether the vessel is awaiting repairs at a Chinese shipyard.

The 172,600-cubic-meter carrier arrived in southern China earlier this month after transporting an Arctic LNG 2 cargo via the Northern Sea Route. Rather than immediately returning north to the Arctic, however, the vessel proceeded toward China’s east coast and has remained in waters off Ningbo.

According to vessel tracking data, Alexey Kosygin recently spent time at Changtu Island, home to the Jinhai shipyard, a major Chinese ship-repair facility. The vessel has since departed the area. There has been speculation that it was awaiting repairs, although neither the ship’s operator nor the shipyard has publicly confirmed that.

There have also been unconfirmed reports that the carrier may have suffered ice-related damage during its Arctic voyage. It is not clear whether any such damage exists or whether it would require dry-docking.

The possibility of repairs would be notable because Alexey Kosygin is one of the newest additions to Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 fleet. The vessel was completed at Russia’s Zvezda Shipbuilding Complex in 2025 and is among the first Arc7 LNG carriers built in Russia. The vessel entered into service for Arctic LNG 2 at the beginning of 2026 after completing sea and ice trials.

Ice damage and propulsion problems have previously sidelined Arc7 carriers. In 2021, the Nikolay Yevgenov damaged one of its three azipods during a winter transit of the Northern Sea Route and was subsequently repaired at Damen’s shipyard in France. 

More recently, the Sovcomflot-operated Christophe de Margerie spent several months at Jinhai in 2024 after reportedly suffering damage involving its hull, azimuthing propulsion units and nitrogen system. The prolonged repair period highlighted the difficulty of maintaining Russia’s specialized Arc7 fleet under Western sanctions.

The episode also underscores the importance of specialized European repair capacity to the Arctic LNG trade. Denmark’s Fayard remains the last EU shipyard servicing Arc7 carriers, after Damen ended such work. The yard has continued maintaining Yamal LNG vessels despite growing political pressure and an EU ban on maritime services to Russian LNG vessels due to take effect in 2027.

There is currently no confirmation that Alexey Kosygin requires repairs. But its prolonged presence off Ningbo and repeated approaches toward the Jinhai shipyard suggest the recently completed vessel may need to be serviced before returning to Arctic LNG 2 operations.

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