Adventure or New Challenge? Russia Sends First-Ever LNG Tanker Across Arctic

In a bold move to bypass Western sanctions, Russian LNG producer Novatek sent the non-ice class LNG carrier Everest Energy through the icy waters of the Northern Sea Route. This is the first time a conventional carrier has attempted this route.

The voyage increases the risk profile of Arctic shipping. The Everest Energy lacks a permit from Russia’s Arctic permitting authority, the Northern Sea Route Administration, and is sailing under a suspended Palauan flag with unclear P&I insurance status.

The Everest Energy is part of Russia’s emerging LNG shadow fleet, first reported in early August. It visited the Arctic LNG 2 project for the second time last week, departing on September 6, and is now in the Kara Sea heading towards Asia.

Since 2017, the Northern Sea Route has seen numerous deliveries of liquefied gas from the Yamal LNG project using specialized ice-capable vessels. However, the 21-year-old Everest Energy is the first regular carrier attempting the 3 500 nautical mile route. Ice extent is typically at its lowest in mid-September, marking the annual minimum ice extent in the Arctic.

“It remains to be seen whether Everest Energy will need to be escorted off Wrangel Island due to the heavy drifting ice. This situation highlights the current risks associated with non-ice-class vessels navigating autonomously, which is a significant departure from the Northern Sea Route Administration’s assurances of safe navigation,” says an Arctic shipping expert and Chief Professor of Maritime Education at the French Maritime Academy (ENSM).

The direct routing via the Northern Sea Route suggests that Russia aims to market its sanctioned LNG in Asia. Novatek’s Chinese marketing arm was sanctioned by the U.S. two weeks ago.

Russia’s initial efforts to deliver sanctioned cargo from the Arctic LNG 2 project using traditional shipping routes have been thwarted by ongoing U.S. sanctions. More than five weeks after the carrier Pioneer picked up the first cargo from Novatek’s flagship project, several vessels remain stranded in the Mediterranean and the Arctic.

U.S. sanctions have targeted nine LNG carriers associated with the project. The Pacific island state of Palau has temporarily suspended the flags of five carriers, including Pioneer and Everest Energy, pending an investigation into illegal shipping practices.

Without proper registration, these vessels face difficulties crossing regulated international straits, such as the Suez Canal. The flag suspensions also halted two other carriers, Asya Energy and New Energy, which were transporting sanctioned LNG from the project.

Asya Energy was on its way down the Norwegian coast when its flag was suspended. It has since returned to Russian waters and transferred its cargo to a floating LNG storage barge, Saam FSU. After receiving cargo in a ship-to-ship transfer with Pioneer, New Energy has been idle north of the Suez Canal for the past two weeks.