FT: Russia is expanding its ‘shadow fleet’ of tankers to carry liquefied natural gas ahead of looming supply ban

Russia is assembling a shadow fleet of liquefied natural gas tankers, according to Meduza, to keep shipping fuel to global markets despite looming European sanctions. Over the past six months, the fleet has grown to twenty-five vessels—a mix of secondhand ships and newly built tankers from Russia's Zvezda shipyard, most registered under shell companies in Dubai, Hong Kong, and Singapore. The strategy mirrors Russia's existing shadow oil fleet, which now numbers over a thousand vessels. The European Union plans to ban Russian LNG imports starting January first, twenty twenty-seven, and the expanded fleet would let Moscow circumvent that restriction. China is currently the main buyer of Russian LNG, particularly from the Arctic LNG Two project, where specialized tankers transfer cargo at sea before passing it to conventional carriers. This escalation follows sanctions that have disrupted production at Russia's Arctic LNG Two project since April twenty twenty-four.

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