Second ‘dark fleet’ LNG tanker departs from sanctioned Russian terminal

(Bloomberg) — A second liquefied natural gas tanker left an export terminal in northern Russia that’s subject to U.S. sanctions, ship-tracking data show.

The Asya Energy, part of a suspected “dark fleet” of vessels assembled by Moscow to take gas to willing buyers, is now heading west after satellite images showed the ship at the Arctic LNG 2 plant last weekend.

Traders are closely tracking activity at the terminal, which was slapped with sanctions last year that prevented delivery of the ice-class tankers needed to export the LNG. Yet earlier this month a tanker set off from the plant, suggesting Russia’s managed to circumvent the curbs using its shadow fleet.

The Asya Energy previously showed its location as circling in the Barents Sea for more than 10 days, apparently concealing its true location. The ship’s destination and the buyer of its cargo are unclear.

The second vessel’s behavior mirrors that of the first. 

That tanker, the Pioneer, was last seen entering the Mediterranean Sea as of Thursday, tracking data show. That means it may be headed to southern Europe or Turkey, North Africa or the Middle East. The vessel could even be bound for Asia, should it cross the Red Sea, though LNG ships have largely avoided the waterway since Houthi attacks on shipping intensified in January.

“Interesting to see that despite the conflict in Ukraine, Russia is still growing” in LNG, Oystein Kalleklev, chief executive officer of shipper Flex LNG Ltd., said Wednesday. Moscow appears to be repeating its oil playbook — using a shadow fleet to send cargoes to friendly nations — he said.

“We do think that the Russians will also find willing buyers for these LNG volumes,” Kalleklev said.

Both vessels show their destinations as “for orders,” and data on their draft — which indicates their depth below the waterline, giving clues on their load — hasn’t been updated. It’s possible they may again switch off their transponders on the approach to their destinations.