New Russian-Flagged LNG Tanker Appears to Load US-Sanctioned Gas
(Bloomberg) -- A liquefied natural gas tanker that recently switched flags to Russia appears to be loading fuel from a US-sanctioned project, marking Moscow’s latest move to expand its dark fleet designed to circumvent Western restrictions.
The Merkuriy, which changed flags to Russia earlier this year and also switched owners to a little-known company, docked next to the US-sanctioned Saam floating storage unit near Murmansk in western Russia, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Kpler. Saam is used to hold LNG from the blacklisted Arctic LNG 2 project.
The move underscores Russia’s efforts to capitalize on high LNG demand across Asia as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz chokes a fifth of global supply and sends fuel prices higher. The shipments are being offered at a deep discount to spot prices to entice energy-hungry customers, Bloomberg reported last month.
Russia has struggled to increase LNG exports in recent years due to sanctions imposed by the US and Europe, which has throttled production at its newest facility — Arctic LNG 2. Increasing the number of ships in the shadow fleet would allow it to boost exports to Asia.
The Merkuriy displays hallmarks of dark fleet vessels: it is older than typical LNG carriers still in service and had recently been transferred to Celtic Maritime & Trading SA — a company not well known within the industry — via opaque intermediaries. The ship was previously managed by Oman Ship Management Co.
Contact information for Celtic Maritime wasn’t immediately available.
Three other former Omani tankers, which have also switched to Russian flags, are heading to the Arctic region or have already arrived, ship-tracking data show. Those vessels may also be used to ferry fuel from US-sanctioned projects.
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