‘Dark fleet’ suspected of transporting Russian liquefied natural gas from the Arctic
Satellite images from August show two liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers docked at the port of Arctic LNG 2, a Russian LNG production mega-project sanctioned by the United States. Because they transmit false GPS coordinates and have links with opaque companies supposedly based in Dubai, these ships could be part of a "dark fleet" being developed to export LNG and get around existing US sanctions. On August 23, the United States added the two LNG tankers to its list of sanctions.
It's a ship that catches the eye: a satellite image taken on August 1 shows an LNG tanker – a cargo ship carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG) – moored at the port of the Arctic LNG 2 project, a gigantic natural gas liquefaction plant on the Gydan Peninsula in western Siberia, Russia. This is the first time that an LNG tanker has been seen in the port of the plant, which had been due to start exporting in 2024.
LNG is natural gas that has been cooled to -160°C, giving it a liquid form that makes it easier to transport. The Arctic LNG 2 plant, operated by Russia's leading producer, Novatek, will eventually produce 19.8 million tonnes of LNG a year. The plant is crucial for Russia, as it currently produces 8 percent of the world's LNG and is aiming for 20 percent by 2035 with a view to financing its ongoing war in Ukraine. The stakes are all the more high for Moscow, given that the European Union's imports of Russian oil and gas are falling.
