Russia Is Building Up a Shadow Fleet of Gas Tankers to Circumvent EU Sanctions – Financial Times

Over the past six months, Russia’s shadow fleet of liquefied gas tankers has grown by at least eight vessels, bringing its total number to 25. Among them are two newly built tankers, the “Aleksey Kosygin” and the “Konstantin Posyet,” from the Russian shipyard “Zvezda.”

The expansion of this fleet will allow Russia to continue exporting liquefied natural gas after 2027, when the European Union will completely phase it out. 

These vessels are primarily owned by offshore companies linked to Russia in Dubai, Hong Kong, and Singapore. To conceal the origin of the raw materials, they use flags of convenience, turn off their signaling systems, and transfer cargo from ship to ship.

Source: Financial Times.

The EU has imposed sanctions on those who help Russia sell oil.

Earlier, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry called for tougher sanctions following Russia’s attack on a tanker near Romania.

The EU will impose sanctions against Belarusian oil refineries for supplying gasoline to Russia.