A liquefied natural gas tanker reportedly helping Russia bypass U.S. sanctions has been caught faking its location, according to satellite imagery analyzed by Bloomberg News. The CCH Gas vessel, registered to an owner in Hong Kong, has been signaling that it was idling off the eastern coast of Malaysia over the past week. However, Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite images taken between October 28 and November 2 indicate the ship was not actually in that location.
Earlier in October, satellite imagery showed CCH Gas alongside a tanker identified by ship-tracking data as the Perle, which carries LNG from Russia’s Portovaya plant. The plant was blacklisted by the United States in January. The positioning suggested a ship-to-ship transfer, implying that CCH Gas may have been receiving sanctioned LNG cargo.
It remains unclear where CCH Gas is currently located or its intended destination. Analysts note that vessel “spoofing,” the practice of transmitting false location signals, is common among “dark fleet” ships attempting to avoid detection by Western authorities. Bloomberg reports that Russia has been actively seeking buyers for its LNG despite international efforts to curb Moscow’s exports. Another sanctioned facility, Arctic LNG 2, began shipping blacklisted fuel to China in late August, signaling a broader strategy to circumvent U.S. sanctions.
The CCH Gas case underscores ongoing challenges for regulators tracking Russian energy shipments, as satellite technology and open-source intelligence reveal efforts to obscure the movement of sanctioned resources. Bloomberg’s analysis highlights the persistence of these evasive tactics as global LNG markets continue to navigate geopolitical pressures.
