On Thursday, a tanker laden with liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia’s sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 plant arrived at an import terminal in southern China.
This vessel had loaded its cargo at a Russian storage facility in June, according to ship-tracking data from Kpler and LSEG, quoted in a Reuters report.
This would mark the first cargo received from the Arctic LNG 2 project if the tanker unloads LNG at the terminal.
The project is currently subject to Western sanctions due to Russia’s conflict with Ukraine.
The Arctic Mulan LNG tanker
From February to April, the Arctic Mulan LNG tanker was observed idling off the Egyptian coast.
Subsequently, in early May, it journeyed through the Suez Canal, Red Sea, and Bab al-Mandab Strait, as indicated by LSEG and Kpler data.
The vessel journeyed east through Southeast Asia, then north to Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, arriving at the Koryak floating storage unit (FSU) on June 3.
After loading, it sailed south, reaching China’s Beihai LNG terminal in southern Guangxi province on August 28, where it berthed.
“While discharge is not yet confirmed, this appears to be the first Arctic LNG 2 delivery since loadings began in August 2024,” Kpler analyst Go Katayama was quoted in the report.
The timing may align with President Putin’s upcoming visit to China, though the buyer remains unclear.
Russian President Vladimir Putin will be among several foreign heads of state and government attending a military parade in Beijing next week to mark the formal surrender of Japan during World War Two.
US sanctions targeting Russia’s oil and gas revenues now include the Arctic Mulan tanker.
This action affects the registered owners and managers of several LNG vessels.
Arctic Mulan, a tanker, is managed by Skyhart Management Services, an Indian company.
Skyhart Management Services shares its registered address with Zinnia International Co, which is listed as the tanker’s registered owner.
This information is according to the shipping database Equasis.
Test of sanctions
According to Rystad Energy analyst Jan-Eric Fahnrich, the tanker’s journey to China seemed to be primarily a test of Washington’s position on sanctions, especially considering the almost non-existent Chinese spot demand for LNG.
He said in the report:
US President Donald Trump’s reaction will likely dictate whether this remains a one-off transaction, or it opens the door for a number of vessels currently eastbound via the Northern Sea Route.
Arctic LNG 2, a project 60% owned by Russia’s Novatek, aimed to be one of Russia’s largest LNG plants, with a target annual output of 19.8 million metric tons.
However, despite loading several cargoes onto sanctioned tankers over the past year, its future is uncertain due to sanctions.
According to Kpler data, eight cargoes were loaded from Arctic LNG 2 onto sanctioned LNG vessels last year.
Of these, four were discharged into the Koryak FSU, which, according to the same Kpler data, has exclusively received cargoes from Arctic LNG 2.
So far this year, five cargoes have been loaded from the project. All sanctioned tankers travelled east via the Northern Sea Route.
Of these, two are currently located north of Russia, and the remaining three are near the Koryak FSU.
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