A gas tanker carrying Russian LNG arrived in China for the first time

A gas tanker carrying LNG from a Russian export plant under U.S. sanctions has docked in China for the first time.

It is the latest step by Moscow to expand its supply of the fuel to Asia, Bloomberg reported.

The Arctic Mulan, carrying gas from the sanctioned Arctic LNG-2 plant in northern Russia, docked at the Beihai LNG terminal on Aug. 28, according to ship tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.

The sanctioned plant began exporting the fuel last year through a “shadow fleet,” but no ships have previously entered the import terminal due to buyers’ concerns about possible U.S. retaliation.

The Arctic LNG-2, operated by Novatek, is key to Russia’s plans to triple its LNG exports by 2030 and tap new markets after pipeline gas sales to traditional buyers in Europe plummeted.

In addition to pressuring India over its purchases of Russian oil, the United States has so far refrained from tightening restrictions on buyers of Russian LNG as it seeks to broker a ceasefire in Ukraine. US President Donald Trump said talks with Putin in August had been “very productive”.

The delivery to an as-yet-unnamed buyer is also atypical, as China’s imports of the supercooled fuel have been declining this year amid rising domestic production and pipeline supplies, including from Russia.

“The deal came at a time when Chinese spot demand for LNG was virtually non-existent due to large supplies from other sources and weak demand,” said Rystad Energy analyst Jan-Erik Fenrich. “So the move is not driven by necessity but rather by a desire to test Washington’s softer stance on energy sanctions against Russia.”

U.S. President Donald Trump’s reaction will likely determine whether this remains a one-off deal or opens the way for several ships currently heading east via the Northern Sea Route, he added.

According to ship tracking data, the Arctic Mulan loaded a shipment of LNG from a floating storage facility in eastern Russia in early June.

The Arctic LNG-2 shipped eight shipments last summer but was forced to halt operations in October due to a lack of buyers and the start of ice formation around the facility. At that time, the ships were offloading gas to storage facilities in Russia. Five ships have loaded onto the Arctic LNG-2 this year, and all are now heading east. A sixth ship is approaching the sanctioned plant.