LNG transfers off Murmansk raise talk of a Russian LNG 'dark fleet'

Ship-to-ship transfers of Russian LNG at the Kildin anchorage north of Murmansk have already exceeded last year's total of 13, gCaptain reports, with ten between 1 January and 30 April and at least five since. The ice-capable Nikolay Urvantsev and the conventional Lena River completed another transfer there this week. Novatek has used the anchorage for Yamal LNG reloading since 2020. Twenty-eight LNG carriers have been permitted to sail in Russia's Arctic waters, including nearly a dozen without ice strengthening. Flex LNG chief executive Oystein Kalleklev said this "could potentially be the beginning" of a dark fleet for LNG. Arctic LNG 2 is under US, EU and UK sanctions.

This is a summary in our own words of the linked reporting. Allegations are those of the source. How we report.