Russia’s LNG Shadow Fleet Resumes Operations After Months-Long Hiatus

By Malte Humpert (gCaptain) –

Several vessels of Russia’s LNG shadow fleet are on the move after idling for much of the past two months. In the Western Arctic near Murmansk, newbuild LNG carrier Mulan called at the Saam FSU over the weekend, likely to reload LNG it had previously offloaded at the end of September. 

Mulan originally picked up cargo at the sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project on September 22, the sixth loading at the plant before the operator decided to halt production two weeks later.

The vessel circled extensively in the Kara and Barent Seas for the past three months, with a quick stop near Murmansk in November, likely to exchange crews and take on provisions. Satellite images and AIS data show Mulan alongside Saam FSU before she departed with destination Port Said, near the northern terminus of the Suez Canal. 

In the Far East, the LNG carrier Pioneer departed from Nakhodka Bay on December 20 steaming north, likely heading for the Koryak FSU in southern Kamchatka. Pioneer was the first vessel to load product at Arctic LNG 2 with its AIS transponder turned off in early August thus setting in motion Russia’s LNG shadow fleet. 

The vessel rendezvoused with another shadow fleet vessel, Nova Energy (formerly New Energy), near Port Said in an attempted ship-to-ship transfer on August 25. Industry sources reported the transfer may have been a ruse. 

Pioneer transited the Suez Canal at the end of September before traveling all the way to the Sea of Japan. She had been idling in or near Nakhodka Bay east of Vladivostok since the end of October. A visit to Koryak FSU would indicate either an attempt to offload cargo or, if the STS to Nova Energy did occur, to load new gas from the FSU. 

In either case, with two shadow fleet LNG carriers now on the move after months of inactivity, Russia appears to have started a new attempt to deliver sanctioned gas to buyers. It follows the visit of a senior Novatek executive to Washington DC last week to discuss Arctic LNG sanctions. Both Pioneer and Mulan have been sanctioned by the U.S. restricting their ability to load product at LNG terminals.

Additional vessels of the shadow fleet have also left their holding positions. Newbuild North Way departed from waters east of Kolguyev Island where it had been idling for the past two months together with three other North-Series LNGC. North Mountain has now also departed from those same waters in the direction of Murmansk. All four vessels were sanctioned by the U.S. in mid-August.

Additional vessels of the shadow fleet loaded with gas from Arctic LNG 2 remain in Nakhodka Bay and in the Barents Sea. These include East Energy (formerly Asya Energy) and Metagas Everest (formerly Everest Energy)

Nearby Novatek continues regular ship-to-ship operations for its unsanctioned Yamal LNG project. 

Ice-class LNGC Vladimir Vize is set to rendezvous with LNG Megrez at the Kildin anchorage in the next 24 hours. This will be the fifth STS transfer in recent weeks. The offshore reloading operations will likely continue at an accelerated pace as an EU-wide ban on transshipments takes effect in March 2025.

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