US sanctions two more LNG carriers in Arctic LNG 2 crackdown
Two more gas carriers involved in Russia's Arctic LNG 2 project have been added to the US sanctions list
One of the LNG carrier was discovered last week transporting cargo from Moscow’s flagship Arctic LNG project via a ship-to-ship transfer
THE US has continued tightening the screws on Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 project by targeting two more liquefied natural gas carriers involved in shipments from the heavily sanctioned facility, along with related shipping entities.
The State Department announced it designated Gotik Energy Shipping and Plio Energy Cargo Shipping OPC PVT. These companies are the registered owner and commercial manager, respectively, of the LNG tanker New Energy (IMO: 9324277).
The vessel allegedly employed deceptive shipping practices, including disabling its automatic identification system, to load cargo from the Arctic LNG 2 project via a ship-to-ship transfer on August 25 with Pioneer (IMO: 9256602), a vessel that had already been sanctioned by the US earlier in the month.
Pioneer was one of seven LNG carriers hit with US blocking sanctions last month, as part of Washington's ongoing efforts to hamper Moscow’s Arctic gas operations.
It and Asya Energy (IMO: 9216298) had been the first two vessels to lift cargoes from Arctic LNG 2. They subsequently had their registration temporarily revoked by the Palau International Ship Registry following an investigation.
Ship database information shows New Energy and another LNG carrier targeted by the State Department, Mulan (IMO: 9864837), are also flying the Palau flag. The latter vessel was identified by Washington as being managed and operated by Plio Energy, with Mulan as property in which the company has an interest.
“The US government will continue to answer attempts to operationalize the sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project or otherwise expand Russia’s energy capabilities with a swift response,” the statement said.
“Working alongside our G7 partners and other allies, we will remain steadfast in countering Russia’s exploitation of its energy resources for political gain.”
There are signs Western sanctions have hampered Russia's Arctic gas ambitions for now, with the third LNG cargo loaded from Arctic LNG 2 offloading into a floating storage unit late last week.
According to LNG analysts Eikland Energy, Everest Energy (IMO: 9243148) transferred its cargo into the 361,600 cubic meter SAAM Fsu (IMO: 9915090) north of Murmansk before returning to the Novatek PAO-operated LNG production project.
