Fourth sanctioned gas carrier arrives at Russian Arctic LNG 2

The sanctioned vessel Christophe de Margerie has been spotted near the Utrenny terminal beyond the Arctic Circle, but its further loading is in doubt.

An Arctic LNG tanker under US sanctions has arrived at the export terminal of the Arctic LNG 2 plant, located beyond the Arctic Circle. Bloomberg reports.

This is the gas carrier Christophe de Margerie, which was restricted by the Joe Biden administration in January of this year as part of the toughest measures against the Russian energy sector.

As of the morning of August 9, the vessel was near the berths of the Utrenny terminal. However, according to available information, it is empty, and there are no guarantees that the tanker will be loaded with fuel.

Two more sanctioned gas carriers remain at anchor next to the Christophe de Margerie — the Zorya and the Voskhod. Previously, like the Iris vessel, they had already loaded fuel batches, but were unable to find buyers: all these tankers are still standing in Russian waters with unnecessary cargo.

Previously, Christophe de Margerie served the Yamal LNG project, which is also located in the Arctic, but is not yet under sanctions.

Reference: Arctic LNG 2 is a key project of Novatek, on which the Kremlin is pinning its hopes for a threefold increase in LNG production by 2030. However, since 2023, these plans have been systematically undermined by American sanctions, which limit Russia’s income from energy exports after the invasion of Ukraine.

Also, as USM reported the day before, Turkey will not join the EU plan to completely abandon Russian gas.