Russian tanker failed to find LNG buyer after four months at sea

The Pioneer tanker, which was carrying LNG from the sanctioned Arctic LNG-2, has not found a buyer willing to circumvent US sanctions.

The vessel, after four months at sea, has docked at the Koryak floating storage facility in Kamchatka, Bloomberg reports.

The Pioneer tanker, the Arctic LNG 2 plant and the Koryak storage facility are all subject to Western sanctions, which complicates Russian trade.

In early August 2024, the Pioneer vessel was spotted on satellite imagery as it picked up the first batch of gas from the Arctic LNG-2 plant. After that, the tanker spent more than four months searching for a buyer.

“The length of the voyage underscores the extent to which US restrictions are hindering Moscow’s plans to triple LNG exports by 2030. That is, the tanker has not found a buyer willing to circumvent US sanctions, despite a four-month round-the-world voyage,” the report says.

According to Bloomberg, several batches of gas were exported from the Russian plant “Arctic LNG-2”, but all were transported on ships of the so-called “shadow fleet” to circumvent Western sanctions.

It should be noted that none of these ships were recorded in foreign ports. Potential buyers are afraid of sanctions from the United States. Now the plant “Arctic LNG-2” has stopped liquefying natural gas due to the lack of both buyers and ships.

Read also: Russian “Arctic LNG-2” was left without key suppliers of tankers.