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.

Danish shipyard Fayard and CEO Thomas Andersen has been urged to halt all repair and maintenance work on Russia’s ice-class Arc7 LNG carriers, as servicing carried out in 2026 risks extending the vessels’ operational lifespan beyond the EU’s sanctions deadline.

Beihai LNG in Guangxi has discharged 26 cargoes this year to 13 July, and every one of them came from Russia. That intake marks the terminal’s second-busiest first half in eight years, behind only 2024, and ten cargoes more than it took over the same window last year. The berth is working at its usual rate. Nothing else has come through it.

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.

Trading and reselling Russian LNG will be forbidden for EU-based companies starting from 2027 – regardless if the Russian LNG is destined for the European Union or not, EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen specified.

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.

Persistent disruptions to LNG flows through the Strait of Hormuz bolster Russia’s chances of getting the Power of Siberia II pipeline built. A 2032 startup would give Gazprom a new major outlet, as the EU’s 2027 ban on Russian LNG reshapes Moscow’s long-term export strategy.

Arctic LNG 2 is expanding its tanker fleet to re-route exports to Asia ahead of the EU’s planned 2027 ban on Russian LNG imports. The Novatek-led project is estimated to need up to 40 additional LNG carriers to sustain Arctic LNG 2’s targeted export volumes beyond 2026.

Prospects that Donald Trump’s upcoming visit to Beijing could help reinstate direct US LNG imports to China are gaining traction, with LSEG data indicating that three carriers loaded in Louisiana could reach China within a month.

India has rejected a cargo of Russian LNG from the US-sanctioned terminal despite domestic supply shortages amid Middle East tensions – effectively stranding a 138,200-cbm tanker near Singapore, according to Reuters and ship-tracking data.