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The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office said in a statement on Thursday that the UK government has also sanctioned 18 Russian oil tankers and Russian gas company Rusgazdobycha JSC, the largest sanctions action to date against Russia’s “shadow fleet.”
This move brings the total number of oil tankers sanctioned to 43.
“We are continuing to ratchet up pressure on the beleaguered Russian gas industry, with flagship company Gazprom posting a significant net loss of $6.9 billion in 2023 – its first annual loss in more than 20 years,” the statement said.
LNG carriers
According to the statement, the sanctioned LNG carriers are Marshal Vasilevskiy (IMO 9778313), Velikiy Novgorod (IMO 9630004), Mulan (IMO 9864837), Everest Energy (IMO 9243148),
Gazprom’s 174,000-cbm FSRU Marshal Vasilevskiy is Russia’s only FSRU and works off Russia’s Kaliningrad.
Reports suggest that Gazprom has been using the vessel this year as an LNG carrier due to a vessel shortage.
On the other hand, Gazprom used the 2014-built 170,200-cbm Velikiy Novgorod last year to deliver its first LNG cargo to China via the Northern Sea Route.
The 2024-built 79,800-cbm Mulan and the 2003-built 138,000-cbm Everest Energy were previously sanctioned by the US government, which said the vessels were used to ship volumes from the Novatek-operated Arctic LNG 2 project.
This new sanction package comes in the weeks following recent UK actions to sanction five LNG carriers and two associated entities linked to Russian LNG exports, including from the Arctic LNG 2 project.
The UK government sanctioned Ocean Speedstar Solutions, the owner and operator of LNG carriers Pioneer and Asya Energy.
The 2005-built and 2002-built LNG carriers have a capacity of about 138,000 cbm.
The UK also sanctioned White Fox Ship Management, the owner and operator of LNG carrier North Sky.
This 2024-built LNG carrier has a capacity of 174,000 cbm.
Moreover, the sanctioned vessels include Pioneer, Asya Energy, North Sky, and the 2007-built 150,000-cbm, New Energy, and the 2020-built 174,000-cbm, SCF La Perouse, now renamed to La Perouse.
US sanctions
These moves followed vessel sanctions by the US government.
The US government first sanctioned seven LNG carriers and then added two more vessels.
The vessels include Asya Energy, Everest Energy, Pioneer, North Air, North Mountain, North Sky, North Way, New Energy, and Mulan.
Russian LNG producer Novatek recently denied it is establishing a “shadow fleet” of LNG carriers to transport LNG from its Arctic LNG 2 project.
“The allegations made in the media, namely that the company is involved in the establishment and management of a shadow fleet, as well as in loading products from the Arctic LNG 2 project, are untrue and do not stand up to facts,” the company said.