LNG Carriers

Left holding positions : Mulan, Pioneer, Nova Energy (formerly New Energy), North Air, North Mountain, North Sky, North Way
Remain in Nakhodka Bay : East Energy (formerly Asya Energy) and Metagas Everest (formerly Everest Energy)

In response to recent U.S. sanctions, the Panama Maritime Authority (PMA) has initiated the process to deregister four LNG carriers linked to Russian gas producer Novatek : North Air, North Mountain, North Way, and North Sky, all vessels operated by Singapore-based LNG companies under the ownership of New Transhipment FZE, a UAE subsidiary of Novatek.

Between 2020 and early 2022, Japan’s Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) signed charter deals for three ice-breaking liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessels and a condensate ice-breaker for the Arctic LNG 2 project. 

Four Dubai-based LNG vessel operators, LNG Alpha Pte Ltd, LNG Beta, LNG Delta and LNG Gamma. They are the registered owners of four previously blocked new build LNG carriers: North Air, North Mountain, North Way, and North Sky.
The U.S. had already designated the vessel’s management company White Fox Ship Management. The owners now follow in this latest round of sanctions.
UAE-based entity, New Transshipment FZE, was also designated.
New sanctions designate Abu Dhabi-based construction company Smart Solutions Ltd.

The vessels — Nova Energy, Pioneer and Asya Energy — all loaded shipments from the Arctic LNG 2 facility in northern Russia, which has been targeted by US sanctions. Pioneer is now anchored off the port of Nakhodka, with the two other ships also nearby.
Earlier this month, the plant stopped liquefying natural gas.
All three of the ships — controlled via entities with opaque management and believed to be part of a so-called shadow fleet — are under US sanctions. The restrictions have also left the project without new specialized ice-class vessels. Russia’s Zvezda shipyard won’t be able to deliver the domestically-built lead ice-class tanker for Arctic LNG 2 by the end of this year

Russia is facing a deficit of ice-class cargo vessels for its gigantic Northern Sea Route.
High borrowing costs for domestic projects to build ice-breakers are making Russia’s tariffs for vessel escort across the Northern Sea Route uncompetitive.
Western sanctions prevented Arctic LNG 2 from receiving ice-class vessels it ordered in South Korea. The Russian Zvezda shipyard has already launched at least three out of 15 LNG carriers for the project but so far only one of them has signaled readiness for sea tests. 

Some vessels, including Asya Energy and Pioneer, have been moving closer to prospective buyers in Asia. A third, Nova Energy (formerly New Energy) also looks determined to reach the South China Sea.
“At this time it still looks like they are all in the doldrums,” says Eikland Energy founder Kjell Eikland. “There are 1 million cubic meters of floating, unsold LNG there.”

Russia’s Northern Sea Route Administration announced that vessels with no ice class will have to vacate the waterway by October 15, around 2-3 weeks ahead of schedule. For vessels with light and medium ice classifications the navigation season will end on October 20 and October 31 respectively.

Le Pioneer transportant 138 000 mètres cubes de GNL, a franchi le détroit de Bab el-Mandeb près du Yémen. Il se dirige vers l’Asie. Il est l’un des neuf cargos sanctionnés par les États-Unis et est considéré comme faisant partie de la « flotte fantôme » présumée de la Russie, qui chargerait du GNL de l’usine Arctic LNG 2, également sous sanctions.
Un deuxième navire russe entièrement chargé et sous sanctions, l’Asya Energy, a été vu en mer d’Okhotsk alors qu’il se dirigeait vers le sud.
Yamal LNG, d’une capacité annuelle de 17,4 millions de tonnes (ou 24 Gm3), pourrait rencontrer des problèmes de production.

L'Europe consomme environ 7 à 8 % de gaz naturel russe, contre 40% en 2021.
Transfert de la propriété d'au moins huit navires à des sociétés peu connues de Dubaï. Les bateaux en question sont de classe glace. Les assureurs d'au moins trois des navires-citernes sont également répertoriés comme "inconnus".
Jusqu'à huit cargaisons russes sont transbordées en Europe certains mois. L'Union européenne a décidé le 20 juin 2024 d'acter l'interdiction de transborder la ressource dans ses ports.

LNG carrier Everest Energy traveled to the Koryak FSU near the southern tip of Kamchatka to transfer super-chilled gas from the sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project.
Of the six loadings, totalling roughly 770,000cbm of LNG, none have been delivered to customers.

Asya Energy departed from the sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project over the weekend loaded with the fifth cargo lifted from the facility. It is following the path of last week’s voyage by Everest Energy, which has now reached the northern Pacific.

Pioneer (1) => New Energy (1) => Saam FSU | Asya Energy (2)=> Saam FSU | Everest Energy (3) => Saam FSU, Everest Energy (4) => Koryak FSU (?) and Asya Energy (5)  => Saam FSU (?)

On Sept. 14, the Asya Energy vessel berthed at the plant, and departed fully loaded on Sept. 15, according to data from Kpler and LSEG. The vessel is managed by India-based Ocean Speedstar Solutions, which was designated under sanctions by the U.S. State Department.

In a risky move aimed at overcoming Western sanctions Russian LNG producer Novatek dispatched the non-ice class LNG carrier Everest Energy onto the icy waters of the Northern Sea Route “NSR”. It is the first time a conventional carrier has attempted the route. Everest Energy does not hold a permit by Russia’s Arctic permitting authority, the Northern Sea Route Administration. It is also traveling under a suspended Palauan flag with its P&I insurance status unknown.

Ship : New Energy - Owner : Gotik Energy Shipping Co (Gotik) - Manager : Plio Energy Cargo Shipping OPC PVT LTD (Plio Energy).
Ship : Mulan - Manager :  Plio Energy Cargo Shipping OPC PVT LTD (Plio Energy).

Recently sanctioned carrier Everest Energy, carrying a load of liquefied gas from Arctic LNG 2, has taken up position next to the world’s largest floating LNG storage barge, Saam FSU (FSU stands for Floating Storage Unit) 50 kilometers northwest of Murmansk in Ura-Guba Bay;

LNG carrier Pioneer, which picked up the initial cargo from Russia’s sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project three weeks ago, met up with New Energy just north of the Suez Canal.
While Pioneer was included in U.S. State Department sanctions action on August 23, New Energy, remains unsanctioned, though it is almost certainly going to attract the attention of U.S. authorities.
Russia may currently be readying a second STS operation. Asya Energy, the second LNG carrier calling at Arctic LNG 2 a week or so after Pioneer.
The latest vessel attempting to abscond to Arctic LNG 2 is Everest Energy, which apparently inadvertently and temporarily broadcasted its correct location near sanctioned project over the weekend.  

Asya Energy, Everest Energy and Pioneer 

Ships : Asya Energy, Everest Energy, Pioneer North Air, North Mountain, North Sky and North Way
Companies : White Fox Management FZCO (Dubai), Novatek’s China Holdings Company, Zara Shipholding Company, Waterfall Engineering (Abu Dhabi) 

Asya Energy

Asya Energy

Pioneer

Pioneer

On Wednesday ice-capable and conventional LNG carriers Nikolay Urvantsev and Lena River completed another ship-to-ship transfer at the Kildin anchorage in sheltered waters north of Murmansk. 

The U.S. announced measures against seven LNG carriers constructed by the Far East Zvezda shipyard. Five vessels have been launched and are awaiting sea and gas trials, with two more under construction. The vessels in question are Alexey Kosygin, Pyotr Stolypin, Sergei Witte and thus far unnamed hulls Zvezda 044, Zvezda 045, Zvezda 046, Zvezda 047. The first four vessels are affiliated with already-sanctioned Russian operator Sovcomflot.  

Six LNGC of the same type built by South Korean Hanwha Ocean, while not directly targeted by sanctions, remain in limbo  

Meanwhile, Novatek has been making preparations to assemble a fleet of conventional LNGCs to provide service to its project this summer.  

There were 21 ice-class tankers ordered for the project, including six vessels at South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean, formerly known as Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, and 15 LNG carriers at Russia’s shipyard Zvezda. Three other ice-breaking LNG carriers built by Hanwha Ocean and chartered by Japan’s MOL were also scheduled for delivery in 2023, but it wasn’t clear whether Arctic LNG 2 received them. The remaining three vessels due to be built by Hanwha Ocean were ordered by Russia’s leading shipping company Sovcomflot, but the contract was terminated amid sanctions.

Une noria bien huilée de quinze méthaniers brise-glace approvisionne, jour après jour, l’Europe occidentale en gaz provenant du terminal russe de Yamal. Il faut bien remplir les réserves pour l’hiver…

Le terminal méthanier de Montoir-de-Bretagne près de Saint-Nazaire tourne à plein régime.
- Boris Vilkitsky
- Rudolf Samoylovitch
- Yakov Gakkel
Robin des Bois

Joint venture involving Russian firms SCF Group and NOVATEK has placed an order for 10 icebreaking LNG carriers ARC7, Zvezda Shipbuilding Complex.
In total, contracts have now been signed for 15 Arc7 LNG carriers to support the project,