Russia’s LNG ‘dark fleet’ is showing signs of slowing momentum as winter sets in, struggling to maintain the high pace of deliveries seen over the past three months. This transition is marked by the end of the season for lower-ice-class vessels on the Northern Sea Route (NSR) and unexplained diversions by other tankers.
Arctic Operations Winding Down
- Arc4 Vessels Retreat: The journeys of two medium ice-class gas carriers, Vokshod and Buran, which struggled through the ice-covered Arctic following nuclear icebreakers, are likely the last for Arc4 ice-class vessels via the NSR until mid-summer 2026.
- High Ice-Class Tanker Inactivity: The high ice-class LNGC Christophe de Margerie (Arc7 classification)—the only vessel of its class available for sanctioned gas transport—has recently become inactive. After completing four trips in two months, shuttling LNG from Arctic LNG 2 to the Koryak FSU (Floating Storage Unit) near Kamchatka, it has been anchored outside Koryak since calling there on November 5.
- Production Indicator: The vessel’s recent inactivity, coupled with its previous role as the sole tanker capable of transiting the increasingly icy NSR, suggests the start of reduced production at Arctic LNG 2 until the northern shipping lanes reopen next July.
- Other Transshipment: Another LNG carrier, Arctic Pioneer, arrived at the Koryak FSU to load cargo on October 30 but returned to anchor outside the bay on November 8 after holding there for a week.
Unexplained Diversions
Two other shadow fleet LNG vessels made abrupt course changes in different regions, perplexing market analysts:
- Iris (China): After reportedly offloading cargo at China’s Beihai terminal on October 2, the vessel made an abrupt U-turn off China’s eastern coast and returned to Beihai two weeks later. Analysts speculate the cargo may have been rejected due to being off-spec.
- Zarya (North Atlantic): This sister vessel made a U-turn just off the coast of the Faroe Islands on November 6, a week after loading cargo at Arctic LNG 2 (the 12th and last loading so far this year at the plant). It now appears to be heading for Murmansk.
The slowing pace of deliveries follows a surge in activity, which saw 13 deliveries made to China’s Beihai terminal since the end of August.
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Source: gCaptain
