A fourth sanctioned liquefied natural gas tanker has arrived near Russia’s Arctic export plant, also subject to the US restrictions, as Moscow attempts to expand shipments of the fuel.
The Christophe de Margerie was close to the Utrenniy terminal of the Arctic LNG 2 facility as of early Saturday, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.
The ice-class LNG vessel was sanctioned in January as part of the most aggressive restrictions imposed on Russia’s energy sector by Joe Biden’s administration as it prepared to depart.
The Novatek PJSC-led Arctic LNG 2 is key for Russia’s ambitions to triple production of the super-chilled fuel by 2030. Those plans were upended by US restrictions from 2023 aimed at reducing the Kremlin’s revenue from energy sales following its invasion of Ukraine.
The facility, located above the Arctic circle, ramped up gas production earlier this year and three sanctioned LNG tankers — the Iris, Voskhod and Zarya — appeared to have loaded cargoes since then. None of them appear to have found buyers, though, as the loaded vessels remain anchored in Russian waters.
It’s also not guaranteed that Christophe de Margerie, which appears to be empty, will load fuel from Arctic LNG 2. The vessel previously served Yamal LNG, Russia’s biggest export facility for the fuel, which also operates in the Arctic region. That facility, also led by Novatek, isn’t under sanctions.
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Published on August 9, 2025
