Tanker Carrying Sanctioned Russian LNG Tries Ship Transfer

(Bloomberg) -- A sanctioned liquefied natural gas tanker appears to be transferring its Russian cargo to another ship in the Mediterranean Sea, a sign of the lengths to which Moscow is going to circumvent US actions.

The Pioneer, which was sanctioned by the US on Friday, is currently anchored next to another vessel about 30 kilometers (19 miles) northeast of Egypt’s Port Said, according to satellite images. That’s an indication that it’s executing a so-called open water ship-to-ship transfer, which is rare for natural gas. The recipient vessel is the New Energy, which isn’t subject to restrictions, according to TankerTrackers.com.

The cargo is the first to load from Arctic LNG 2, Russia’s newest gas export plant, which was sanctioned by the US last year. In response to the US actions, Moscow is developing a shadow fleet of LNG tankers in a similar way it did for transporting crude oil and products. 

The US upped the ante last week by imposing restrictions on seven LNG carriers linked to Russia, including the Pioneer and Ocean Speedstar Solutions, the India-based manager of the ship. 

New Energy has been managed by Plio Energy Cargo Shipping since June, according to Equasis, a global shipping database, and was previously suspected to be part of the shadow fleet due to its opaque ownership. The India-based Plio Energy was incorporated on June 20, according to India’s Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

Plio didn’t respond to an email seeking comment.

Once the transfer is finished, New Energy may head through the Suez Canal to Asia, where there could be willing buyers of the Russian gas. It’s common practice for vessels carrying sanctioned energy to hide their location by switching off or manipulating their automatic identification systems.

Everest Energy, another vessel sanctioned by the US on Friday, is currently moving away from the Arctic LNG 2 facility in Russia, according to ship-tracking data, indicating that the vessel picked up a shipment. The ship was faking its location in the Barents Sea until Monday, the data indicate.

(Updates with details of another sanctioned vessel in the last paragraph.)

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