Russian gas giant Novatek and its partners are expanding the fleet of liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers servicing the sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project. Thanks to shrinking sea ice, shipments of sanctioned Russian LNG via the Northern Sea Route have reached a record level, The Barents Observer reports.
According to Reuters, since the start of 2026 at least 31 cargoes totalling 2.3 million metric tons of LNG have been shipped from Arctic LNG 2 to the Chinese port of Beihai. Vessels involved in the shipments include the LNG carriers Voskhod, Arctic Pioneer, Arctic Vostok, Zarya, Arctic Mulan, La Pérouse, Buran, and Arctic Metagaz.
Notably, in March, the Arctic Metagaz was disabled in a drone attack in the Mediterranean Sea.
The Arctic LNG 2 project itself has been under international sanctions since 2023. The restrictions also apply to part of its infrastructure and to the vessels servicing the project. Nevertheless, Novatek and its partners continue to ramp up production and exports.
At least 18 LNG carriers are currently involved in the shipments, including the new Aleksey Kosygin and Konstantin Posiet, built at Russia’s Zvezda shipyard. Part of the fleet is used to transport LNG via the Saam floating storage units near the Kola Peninsula and Koryak in Kamchatka.
In addition, several more LNG carriers, mostly around 20 years old, have recently been acquired for Russian shipments. TradeWinds identifies these as the Merkuriy, Luch, Kosmos, Orion, Arctic Express, Chaivo, and Avacha. Some of them have already taken part in LNG operations near the Kola Peninsula.
In parallel, Russia continues to build new vessels. Two more LNG carriers — the Sergey Witte and Viktor Chernomyrdin — are scheduled to enter service in 2026–2027.
The Barents Observer expects further growth in Russian Arctic LNG shipments to China once the EU’s full ban on Russian LNG, planned for Jan. 1, 2027, takes effect. The restrictions will also affect Yamal LNG, which, unlike Arctic LNG 2, is not currently under sanctions.
