Russia is rapidly expanding a shadow fleet of liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers ahead of tougher European Union sanctions due to take effect in 2027, according to a Financial Times investigation. The growing fleet of second-hand and domestically built LNG tankers is expected to help Moscow maintain exports despite tightening restrictions on Russian energy, underscoring the Kremlin’s efforts to adapt its maritime logistics as Western sanctions intensify.
Russia has quietly expanded its fleet of liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers in preparation for stricter European Union sanctions that will prohibit imports of Russian LNG from 2027, according to a report by the Financial Times citing maritime tracking data and industry analysts.
The newspaper reported that Moscow has added at least eight second-hand LNG tankers over the past six months, alongside commissioning its first domestically built gas carriers. Data compiled by maritime intelligence company Windward indicates that Russia’s shadow LNG fleet now comprises 25 vessels, including two newly built ships constructed at the country’s Zvezda shipyard.
The expansion is designed to enable Russia to continue exporting LNG after European restrictions tighten, mirroring the strategy Moscow has used to sustain crude oil exports through a so-called “dark fleet” operating outside conventional Western shipping and insurance systems. The European Union has progressively tightened restrictions on Russian fossil fuel exports as part of broader efforts to reduce revenues that support the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine.
Irina Mironova, a senior researcher at the New Energy Advancement Hub, told the Financial Times that Russia’s shadow LNG fleet represented an unprecedented development.
“The oil shadow fleet had precedents in Iran and Venezuela. But no other country had reached that level of technological advancement in gas production by the time it got sanctioned,” she said. “It’s a unique phenomenon.”
Under current EU measures, member states—which purchased almost all production from Russia’s Yamal LNG plant during the first half of this year—will be prohibited from importing Russian LNG from 2027. Separate sanctions already apply to some Russian facilities, including Novatek’s Arctic LNG 2 project.
The European Union last week also introduced rules requiring sales of LNG tankers to Russian citizens to be reported to Brussels. However, it stopped short of banning the transport of Russian LNG by EU-owned vessels to third countries following lobbying by Greece.
Unlike Russia’s oil shadow fleet, now estimated to exceed 1,000 vessels, LNG shipping presents far greater technical challenges because specialised gas carriers are significantly more complex and expensive to build and operate.
According to Kpler shipping data analysed by the Financial Times, four recently acquired LNG carriers have already transported cargoes from export hubs handling LNG subject to Western sanctions. The vessels now sail under the Russian flag and have been renamed Kosmos, Orion, Merkuriy and Luch.
Russia has also begun producing its own LNG carriers. The Aleksey Kosygin, the first LNG carrier built at the Zvezda shipyard on Russia’s far eastern coast, has been transporting cargoes from the Arctic LNG 2 project since its delivery to state-owned shipping company Sovcomflot in December. A second vessel, the Konstantin Posiet, was officially named earlier this month.
Privately owned Novatek dominates Russia’s LNG industry. According to Russia’s official statistical agency, its Yamal LNG facility and the sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project together account for more than 65 per cent of the country’s LNG production. Gazprom’s Sakhalin-2 project contributes a further 30 per cent.
While much of Russia’s unsanctioned LNG continues to be transported by vessels chartered from international companies, including Greece’s Dynagas, Japan’s Mitsui OSK and Seapeak, expanding sanctions have encouraged Moscow to develop alternative shipping arrangements.
The Financial Times reported that many shadow LNG carriers are owned through Russia-linked shell companies registered in jurisdictions including Dubai, Hong Kong and Singapore, operating under flags of convenience. Like Russia’s oil shadow fleet, these vessels frequently disable tracking signals and conduct ship-to-ship transfers to obscure the origin of their cargoes.
Septimus Knox, a director at corporate intelligence firm S-RM, told the newspaper that while the tactics resemble those used in oil transport, LNG operations remain considerably more difficult.
“The tactics are broadly the same, but the execution is significantly more difficult because of the nature of LNG transport,” he said. “There are fewer vessels and it requires rarer and more specific infrastructure. It’s not really possible to acquire and operate ‘rust bucket’ LNG tankers in the same way—the global fleet is much smaller and much more modern, and the majority of modern, sophisticated LNG infrastructure is situated in countries not aligned to Russia.”
LNG carriers rank among the world’s most specialised commercial vessels, costing approximately US$300 million each to construct. They rely on sophisticated containment systems capable of maintaining liquefied gas at temperatures of minus 162 degrees Celsius. Russia’s Arctic production facilities further complicate logistics, requiring ice-class vessels capable of operating in frozen waters for much of the year.
China currently remains the only buyer of LNG produced by the sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project. Based on Kpler data analysed by the Financial Times, 11 vessels with an average age of 10 years are transporting cargoes from the project, with shipments transferred at floating storage hubs before being carried onwards to China by conventional LNG tankers. All of those vessels are subject to US sanctions, while Novatek has become the owner or charterer of all but one during the past two years.
Russia’s longer-term ambitions also face significant technical obstacles. Four additional LNG carriers are under construction at the Zvezda shipyard, while six ice-class vessels remain undelivered at South Korea’s Hanwha shipyard because of sanctions.
Navin Kumar, director of maritime research at consultancy Drewry, told the Financial Times that Russia could struggle to build future LNG carriers because French engineering company GTT effectively controls the market for the highly specialised containment systems required to transport liquefied gas. GTT suspended Russian contracts in January 2023 in response to EU sanctions. Kumar said that even if Russia developed a domestic alternative, obtaining the necessary approvals from the International Maritime Organization and classification societies would be a lengthy process, making continued purchases of second-hand vessels more likely.
Carl-Antoine Saverys, chief executive of gas shipping company Exmar, told the Financial Times that his company was already competing with Russian buyers for ageing LNG carriers suitable for conversion into floating gas storage facilities.
“There are a lot of older vessels coming on the market so I do believe a portion of those will go to the Russian fleet,” he said.
