(Bloomberg) -- Tankers carrying sanctioned liquefied natural gas from Russia are gathering off the country’s far eastern coast, a sign of the difficulties in finding buyers in the midst of ever-tightening western restrictions.
The vessels — Nova Energy, Pioneer and Asya Energy — all loaded shipments from the Arctic LNG 2 facility in northern Russia, which has been targeted by US sanctions. Pioneer is now anchored off the port of Nakhodka, with the two other ships also nearby, ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg show.
The ships’ journeys highlight the complications in trading gas from Arctic LNG 2, which began exporting fuel in August. None of the shipments have arrived at overseas ports. Any inability to sell the gas would be a blow to President Vladimir Putin’s plans to use the Arctic to help expand the country’s trade potential.
Earlier this month, the plant stopped liquefying natural gas, as western bans limited its ability to ship and sell cargoes. The Arctic LNG 2 shipments had been offered to buyers in China and Asian nations at a discount, Bloomberg reported last month.
All three of the ships — controlled via entities with opaque management and believed to be part of a so-called shadow fleet — are under US sanctions. The restrictions have also left the project without new specialized ice-class vessels.
Arctic LNG 2 and Novatek PJSC, the venture’s majority shareholder, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Zvezda shipyard won’t be able to deliver the domestically-built lead ice-class tanker for Arctic LNG 2 by the end of this year, Russia’s Kommersant daily reported Wednesday. Delivery is now expected in early 2025, with another tanker in the first quarter of the year, the paper said.
--With assistance from Stephen Stapczynski.
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