Russia has added 4 ships carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG) to its fleet, according to ship tracking data from the London Stock Exchange (LSEG) and the Russian ship registration book announced on April 29.
This move could help Russia increase market share before the European Union (EU) imposes a ban on Russian gas imports.
In January this year, the EU finally approved a plan to ban the import of Russian gas by the end of 2027.
The bloc also imposed sanctions on Russia in response to the conflict in Ukraine. Sanctions limit Russia's access to ships necessary to expand market share in the global LNG market.
Russia's inspection book released on April 29 showed 4 LNG tankers including: Orion (old name Sea LNG), Luch (old name Lake the LNG), Mercury (old name Zahit LNG) and Kosmos (Cagri LNG). All these LNG tankers were built in the period 2005-2006.
Data from the Equasis ship information system also shows that the LNG ships mentioned above have changed owners in February this year.
Accordingly, Kosmos and Luch are transferred to Mighty Ocean Shipping Ltd, registered in Hong Kong (China), while Orion and Mercury are owned by Celtic Maritime & Trading SA, registered in Turkey.
All newly added LNG ships have been renamed and moved to fly the Russian flag. Previously, these ships were owned by an Oman company.
LSEG data shows that all 4 ships are moving north across the Atlantic Ocean.
The destination of the Luch ship was recorded as Murmansk, an area near where the Saam LNG storage floating depot is located.
This facility is used to transship LNG from the Arctic LNG-2 project. LNG transshipment from ships to ships is also taking place near the port with the Yamal LNG project, transferring goods from specialized icebreakers to conventional gas tankers.
