The Russian Federation continues to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project during the winter, using only one specialized vessel for this purpose. This highlights Moscow's critical dependence on an ice-class fleet to circumvent Western restrictions. This is stated in the Bloomberg material, writes UNN.
Details
On Monday, January 5, the Arc7 ice-class tanker Christophe De Margerie docked at the Arctic LNG 2 plant to load the third batch of fuel since December 20. Currently, it is the only vessel of Russia's "shadow fleet" capable of independently navigating thick Arctic ice in winter.
Due to extreme weather conditions, traditional tankers cannot approach the terminal – last month, one such vessel was forced to abandon an attempt to load due to ice jams. Christophe De Margerie transports gas to the floating storage unit Saam in the Murmansk region, from where it is picked up by conventional vessels for delivery to customers, mainly in China.
Export expansion attempts and new vessels
According to analysts, using only one vessel allows the plant to operate at only 25% of its current capacity. However, Russia is trying to change the situation:
At the end of December 2025, the first domestic ice-class tanker "Alexey Kosygin" was put into operation.
The new vessel is already heading to the Arctic from the Far East and is expected to join the export of fuel from Arctic LNG 2.
Two more similar tankers are expected to be delivered in 2026.
The Arctic LNG 2 project, as well as the tanker Christophe De Margerie and the Saam storage unit, are under direct US sanctions. Despite this, the Kremlin considers the Arctic route critically important for compensating for the loss of the European market.