Several tankers with Russian LNG are heading to Asia in search of buyers

Tankers carrying Russian liquefied gas are forced to head to Asia in search of buyers after the Arctic LNG-2 export terminal was hit by US sanctions.

The “Iris” and “Voskhod” vessels, after several weeks of downtime, set off on the Northern Sea Route towards North Asia on August 15. Two more tankers loaded at the plant also set sail for Asian ports last week.

However, despite the resumption of loading in June, none of the trips have yet reached their final destinations, Bloomberg notes.

Last summer, Arctic LNG-2 released eight batches of gas, but was forced to stop in October due to a lack of customers and seasonal icing.

“Today, the project is again under threat of being frozen: international sanctions cut it off from the market, and Russian cargoes are effectively turning into “ghost goods” that wander the seas without a guarantee of sales,” the publication notes.

Earlier, USM reported that Russia is trying to resume LNG exports from Arctic LNG 2 despite the sanctions.