Financial Times revealed that secret buyers have begun buying dozens of liquefied natural gas tankers. The publication explains this with the expansion of the "shadow fleet" from Russia's ships and the preparation for tougher sanctions.
According to inside sources, several previously unknown companies, mostly registered in the UAE, have started buying up LNG tankers over the past year, driving up market prices, especially for older vessels.
According to data from consultancy Windward, since the second quarter of 2023, more than 50 LNG tankers have passed into the hands of companies based in the UAE. Previously, such deals were rare, the publication notes.
According to analyst company Kpler, some of the recently acquired LNG tankers are already traveling on routes traditionally used for Russian gas deliveries.
According to shipbroker SSY, the demand for LNG tankers has led to an increase in prices for ships over 15 years old. In 2022, an LNG carrier built in 2007 was sold for about $50 million; this year another has already been bought for 80 million dollars.
"The market for older steam turbine LNG tankers has shrunk due to stricter environmental regulations as well as significant improvements in technology.
However, we are now seeing a revival of this type of ship. One explanation for this is that they move into the "shadowy" fleet," says Toby Danipace, managing director of SSY's LNG market.
In June, Bloomberg reported that Russia may be building a "shadow navy" for the export of liquefied natural gas. Among the evidence, the agency pointed to the transfer of a number of tankers to the ownership of little-known companies in Dubai, as well as the lack of information about insurers.
In June, the EU imposed new sanctions against Russia. The new package of restrictions included a ban on any re-export of Russian liquefied natural gas to third countries through EU territory.
The Arctic LNG-2 liquefied natural gas project has been under US sanctions since last November 2023.
The Kremlin, commenting on the restrictions on Arctic LNG-2, said that they create additional problems, but Russian companies have learned to protect themselves from the risks and have adapted to the sanctions.
"And every large Russian company in any sphere - financial, manufacturing, construction, mining, transport - now basically insures itself against the risks of sanctions in its work and prepares an action plan in case it falls under the sanctions" ;, the report says.
In 2023, the EU imported about 18 billion cubic meters (about 13 million tons) of Russian liquefied natural gas, mostly under long-term contracts signed until 2022, according to an estimate by the EU energy watchdog - the Agency for cooperation between energy regulators (ACER).
Of this volume, 16 billion cubic meters are supplied by Yamal LNG, and the rest by Port LNG and Kryogaz-Vysotsk. At least 1 billion cubic meters, "but probably more", were re-exported to Asian markets.