At least three LNG-laden tankers appear to have diverted away from the Zeebrugge LNG terminal in Belgium, LSEG data showed on Thursday, as Greenpeace activists blocked the terminal to protest against European Union imports of Russian gas.
Belgium is the second-largest European importer of Russian LNG, receiving 2.3 million metric tons over the first eight months of the year, behind France’s 4 million tons over the same period.
LSEG analysts said the Megara and the Rias Baixas Knutsen, both carrying cargo from the United States, and the LNG Phecda, carrying Russian gas, appeared to have changed course.
The Arctic Voyager, coming from Norway, could also be delayed, they added.
PROTEST EXPECTED TO CONTINUE UNTIL SUNDAY
The Arctic Voyager had been expected to arrive Thursday evening, and the other three over the course of the week, LSEG data showed.
Greenpeace started its action on Wednesday afternoon, using kayaks, liferafts and a sailing boat to block the entrance of the terminal to protest against continued imports of Russian LNG to the European Union, despite Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
The action is expected to last until Sunday, terminal operator Fluxys said, adding that there had been no impact on the operations or output flow of the terminal itself.
Other ships carrying cargo not destined for the LNG terminal have not been interrupted, but should proceed with more caution due to the protests, a spokesperson for the Port of Antwerp-Bruges said.
The EU plans to ban Russian LNG imports a year earlier than envisaged as part of a 19th package of sanctions against Moscow following pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump.
(Reporting by Forrest Crellin in Paris, Alban Kacher in Gdansk, and Marwa Rashad in London. Editing by Mark Potter)