A liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker targeted by U.S. sanctions has berthed at Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 plant, the fourth such vessel to do so this year, shiptracking data from Kpler and LSEG showed.
The Christophe De Margerie tanker arrived unloaded at Arctic LNG 2 on August 9, showed Kpler data. The vessel was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury department in January as part of a broader goal to target Russia’s oil and gas revenues.
The Arctic LNG 2 project, which is 60%-owned by Russia’s Novatek, is also subject to Western sanctions over Russia’s conflict with Ukraine.
Three sanctioned vessels, Iris, Voskhod and Zarya, had previously loaded cargoes from Arctic LNG 2 this year, indicating a resumption of exports after production at the project paused in October.
These vessels have not discharged their cargoes and are currently in Russian waters. Companies can face fines or penalties for doing business or trade with sanctioned entities.
The registered owner for Christophe De Margerie is listed as Zelitiko Shipping, while its ship or commercial manager is Gas Carriers SCF, according to shipping database Equasis.
Both the entities have the same registered address in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, but Reuters could not find contact information for them.
Arctic LNG 2 was set to become one of the country’s largest LNG plants, with eventual output of 19.8 million metric tons per year. But its prospects have been clouded by the sanctions and it has struggled to sell LNG from the project.
Last year, the plant loaded eight cargoes onto several sanctioned LNG vessels, according to Kpler data, with some vessels discharging the fuel at two storage facilities.
(Reporting by Emily Chow and Lucas Liew; Editing by Michael Perry)