Heavy machine guns installed on a sanctioned “shadow fleet” vessel have been spotted for the first time, the independent outlet Dossier Center reported on June 29. Two machine guns were seen on the Marshal Vasilevskiy (IMO: 9778313), a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) that has been sanctioned by the UK, Canada, Australia, and Ukraine.
In mid-May, Estonia’s border guard service photographed the vessel in the Baltic Sea. Images provided to the outlet Delfi show two 12.7 mm Kord heavy machine guns — one on each side of the wheelhouse. Sandbags were placed near the firing positions. The investigation’s authors said the photos were taken near the Estonian island of Hiiumaa as the vessel was heading toward Russia’s Leningrad Region.
The Marshal Vasilevskiy is owned and operated by Gazprom Flot LLC. Vessel-tracking systems classify it as a gas tanker, but it is designed as a floating regasification unit (meaning it can transport LNG and convert it back into gas after mooring at a terminal). The vessel is believed to function as a backup supply route for the Kaliningrad Region in the event that pipeline transit through Lithuania is halted.
The Dossier Center found that since August 2025, between eight and 12 passengers have been on board the Marshal Vasilevskiy during each voyage — about half of them linked to the FSB, Rosgvardia, or the Russian military. In late May and early June, five of the ship’s passengers used military IDs as travel documents.
Experts interviewed by the journalists said single machine guns are of little use against aerial drones. However, they could be used against maritime drones, though a Delfi source from the intelligence service of one Baltic country said it would be difficult for Ukraine to covertly launch such a drone in the Baltic Sea. The source said the weapons may be intended to serve as a deterrent for any Western countries interested in inspecting or detaining the ship.
In March 2026, the Russian gas carrier Arctic Metagaz, which was transporting LNG from the Arctic LNG 2 project, was attacked by a maritime drone in the Mediterranean Sea. The blast caused a fire on board, and the crew was evacuated. The gas carrier, still loaded with LNG, drifted without a crew for several days before it was towed toward the coast of Libya.
