LNG

A second Russian-build ice-class LNG carrier, the Konstantin Posiet, is heading to Asia via the Northern Sea Route, underscoring Moscow’s push to sustain Arctic LNG exports despite Western sanctions.

Sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 has already despatched more LNG to China this year than in the whole of 2025. LNG Journal's own research shows 24 cargoes totalling 1.49 MMt sailed for China by 16 July on a sailed-date basis, against 17 cargoes and 1.05 MMt across all of last year, a total passed as early as 19 May.

Russia’s Novatek has begun its 2026 summer Arctic LNG shipping season with simultaneous eastbound cargoes from its Yamal LNG and Arctic LNG 2 projects via the Northern Sea Route – in the face of Western sanctions and ongoing technical constraints at Arctic LNG 2.

Ice-class carrier Christophe de Margerie is attempting a seasonally early eastbound transit from Novatek’s Arctic LNG 2 terminal via the Northern Sea Route to Asia, underscoring the Russian company’s efforts to sustain exports to predominantly Chinese buyers.

The European Commission, after many delays in imposing updated sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine invasion has now banned from its ports LNG tankers of the Russian Sovcomflot shipping line, while also convening on June 25 the first meeting of the Conference on Accession of Ukraine to the European Union.

European Union countries have bought a record 8.93 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas cargoes from Russia in the year to April, beating the previous record set through to December 2022 of 8.80MT of shipments.

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said the government was taking additional measure to increase liquefied natural gas cargo deliveries to the Asia-Pacific by the Northern Sea Route to offset the loss of pipeline gas customers in the European Union.

Russian natural gas company Gazprom said it produced 300.8 billion cubic metres of gas from January through September 15, a drop of 15.9 percent from last year and expected exports to the European Union would be down by 50 Bcm by year-end.

French liquefied natural gas storage technology firm Gaztranzport and Technigaz (GTT) and its South Korean shipyard partner Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering received an order for the tank design of four new LNG carriers on behalf of the Japanese ship-owner Mitsui OSK Lines.

Dynagas LNG Partners, the owner of six LNG carriers and with five of them ice-class, has given an upbeat assessment of the cargo market and shipping developments from the safe point of view of all its vessels being on long-term charters.