russia has deployed a new gas tanker to a sanctioned Arctic project

This has been reported by Reuters.

On 28 June, the Arctic Express loaded LNG at the Saam facility near the Arctic port of Murmansk and set sail westwards. The vessel’s final destination is currently unknown.

“Arctic LNG-2”, which was planned as one of russia’s largest LNG plants with a capacity of 19.8 million tonnes per year, continues to operate despite US sanctions. China remains the main buyer of cargoes from this project.

The Arctic Express is one of two new LNG tankers that have appeared in the russian register in recent weeks. According to Equasis, until 1 May the vessel was named Queen Cassiopeia and flew the Sierra Leone flag.

The second tanker is the Avacha, formerly known as the T Handan, which previously flew the Panamanian flag. Both vessels were built in 2007–2008 and have recently been re-registered under the russian flag.

russia is expanding its own LNG fleet following the EU ban on imports of russian liquefied natural gas under short-term contracts, which came into force on 25 April. The ban on long-term contracts is due to come into effect on 1 January 2027.

Source: Ekonomichna Pravda