Russia’s Arctic LNG-2 was left without key tanker suppliers

Russia is losing its last tanker suppliers for its largest LNG project, Arctic LNG-2.

The South Korean shipyard Hanwha Ocean was building three tankers for “Arctic LNG-2” on the order of subsidiaries of “Sovcomflot”, but it terminated the contract at the end of 2022, reports rosZMI.

Also on October 31, Japan’s Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL), which ordered the construction of three more gas carriers for Arctic LNG-2, announced the winding down of its business related to the Russian Federation.

As a result, the Rosneft-controlled Zvezda Shipyard remained the sole supplier of gas carriers for the Novatek project. However, out of the 15 vessels that are supposed to be built, Novatek has not yet received a single one. Initially, it was planned that already five Russian gas carriers will start transporting cargo already this year. But the deadlines were disrupted: according to rosZMI sources, Zvezda is currently ready to hand over only one vessel to Novatek, and that is in 2025.

Earlier, USM reported that Russia’s largest liquefied natural gas production project “Arctic LNG-2″ stopped working after another round of US sanctions.