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Russia's Arctic LNG shadow fleet operates undeterred by Middle East conflict
Russia’s Arctic LNG shadow fleet appeared to be operating largely undeterred by the escalating conflict in the Middle East, with at least seven tankers recently transiting or currently en route through the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait en route to and from Asia, even as many global shipping operators were rerouting their ships to avoid the region. Vessels lifting Russian LNG from the Arctic have continued to use the shortcut to Asia. At least seven tankers linked to Russia’s Arctic LNG trade have either recently passed through the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb strait or are currently sailing towards the corridor en route to China. The southbound 'La Perouse' has completed its transit of the Suez Canal and entered the Red Sea, while the northbound 'Arctic Pioneer' was approaching the canal after passing through the Red Sea. Further south, the 'Arctic Mulan' and the 'Iris' were sailing east after clearing the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. In the Indian Ocean, the 'Nova Energy' and 'Arctic Vostok' remained on course for the Red Sea and Suez, while the 'Arctic Metagaz' was heading toward the canal from the Mediterranean.The movements contrasted with the mounting uncertainty over Qatari exports, which must pass through the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint that has seen slower traffic and heightened security concerns in recent days.
Russia’s LNG shadow fleet stalls as winter nears
Russia’s LNG shadow fleet wais struggling to keep the momentum going with winter approaching. LNG carriers made 13 deliveries to China’s Beihai terminal since the end of August, shipments now appeared to slow down. In the North Atlantic, the 'Zarya'Ä made a u-turn just off the coast of the Faroe Islands on Nov 6, seemingly now heading for Murmansk. The vessel had loaded cargo at Arctic LNG 2 a week earlier. The pickup on Oc 31 was the 12th and last loading so far at the plant in 2025. The 'Voskhod' and 'Buran' had struggled through the ice-covered Arctic following behind nuclear icebreakers. Their journeys were likely be the last for Arc4 ice-class vessels via the waters of the Northern Sea Route until mid-summer of 2026. The 'Iris' offloaded cargo at China’s Beihai terminal on Oct 2, but returned to the facility just two weeks later after turning around off China’s eastern coast. Analysts were perplexed by the action, wondering if Iris’ cargo may have been initially rejected due to being off spec. The 'Arctic Pioneer' arrived at the Koryak FSU in Kamchatka on Oct 30 to load cargo. After holding outside Bechevinskaya Bay for a week, the vessel returned to Koryak again on Nov 8. The 'Christophe de Margerie', the only high ice-class LNG carrier available for transport of sanctioned gas, arrived outside Koryak nearly two weeks ago. and finally called at the FSU on Nov 5. The ship has remained at anchor outside the bay since then. For much of the past three months the vessel has been shuttling LNG from Arctic LNG 2 to Koryak at a steady clip, completing four trips in two months at times exceeding 20 knots along the Northern Sea Route – close to its maximum speed in open water. With its Arc7 ice classification, the 'Christophe de Margerie' is the sole LNG carrier in service of the project still capable of transiting the icy Northern Sea Route. The vessel’s recent inactivity suggested the start of reduced production at Arctic LNG 2 until northern shipping lanes open up again in July 2026.
Sanctioned tanker serviced in Zhoushan
As the summer maintenance season has started, the first Arc7 ice-class gas carriers in service of the Yamal LNG project have arrived at the Fayard A/S shipyard in Odense. The 'Nikolay Urvantsev' (IMO: 9750660), chartered to Novatek’s Yamal LNG project, arrived at the drydock on June 26, 2025, and sailed around a week later. The Arc7 LNG carrier 'Fedor Litke (IMO: 9768370)', operated by Dynagas, arrived at the Fayard A/S yard on July 17, following a delivery at Dunkerque, and remained in drydock as of July 24. Repairs and maintenance schedules have been significantly condensed for the Arctic LNG carriers due to their harsh operating conditions along Russia’s Northern Sea Route. The Damen ship repair focuses on hull maintenance, which the LNG carriers regularly require breaking a path through thick Arctic sea ice. The Damen Shiprepair stated that the company was in compliance with all international sanctions legislation against Russia. As the vessels have not been directly sanctioned by the U.S. or the EU the yards’ activities do not violate international law. Though procuring spare parts has become increasingly difficult, suppliers of gas chromatographs and flow meters used on LNG carriers have placed restrictions on the end user and no longer deliver parts to the vessels of the Yamal fleet, related to the fear of sanctions. A number of sanctioned LNG carriers, including an Arc7 and several Arc4 ice-class vessels, have recently resorted to receiving maintenance at Chinese yards. The Arc7 LNG carrier 'Christophe de Margerie' spent months at a Zhoushan Island yard east of Shanghai in summer 2024. Currently two additional sanctioned Russian gas carriers, the 'Sputnik Energy' and the 'Nova Energy' (IMO: 9324277), remained at Zhoushan yards.
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