Russia’s shadow fleet expands with three LNG tankers to Dubai, despite growing sanctions

Main restaurants

• Three LNG tankers, Velikiy Novgorod, Pskov and La Perouse, were handed over to Matias Ship Management in Dubai.
• These vessels were previously operated by Gazprom and Sovcomflot and are now sailing with Portovaya LNG, which is exempt from Western sanctions.
• The move came as the United Kingdom imposed its most significant round of sanctions to date against Russia’s shadow fleet.

Three LNG tankers previously operated by Gazprom and Sovcomflot are now owned by a newly established company in Dubai, Matias Ship Management. This move took place in September, as published by Bloomberg, which is responsible for data from the global shipping database Equasis.

Matias Ship Management’s registered address is at the Meydan Hotel in Dubai, in a free trade zone. The area is also home to other companies suspected of helping Russia build its shadow fleet of oil and LNG tankers.

Operational details

These three vessels, the Velikiy Novgorod, Pskov and La Perouse, are operating at Portovaya LNG, a smaller export terminal on the Russian Baltic Sea. Importantly, Portovaya LNG is exempt from Western sanctions and export restrictions.

Consequences of sanctions

Interestingly, two of these tankers, the Velikiy Novgorod and La Perouse, are currently under British sanctions. The UK recently imposed its most significant round of sanctions against Russia’s shadow fleet and designated even more oil tankers and LNG carriers in a bid to dig up vital revenue streams. Vladimir Putin to limit.

Russia’s shadow fleet

Russia is actively building a “shadow fleet” of tankers to transport its LNG, echoing the tactics used after the invasion of Ukraine to circumvent Western sanctions on oil and product exports. Recent departures from the permitted Arctic LNG 2 facility in northern Russia reflect Moscow’s continued efforts to circumvent these restrictions.

Lifting sanctions

In August confirmation The US State Department announced measures against Russian exports of Arctic LNG 2, focusing on ships that were loading LNG from the facility and companies involved in the development of the project.

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