Yamal LNG has tightened transshipment in Europe

Since the beginning of November, one cargo of Yamal LNG has been transshipped in Europe for further delivery to Asia. Such a decrease may indicate that the project is preparing for the EU ban on transshipment of Russian LNG in its ports, which will come into force in March. Novatek actively uses transshipment near Murmansk. Also, as long as the weather and ice conditions allowed, ordinary tankers could be loaded directly in the Russian Sabetta — at the Yamal LNG terminal.

In December, the supply of Yamal LNG and cargo from the Baltic Cryogaz Vysotsk to Europe remained stable. According to AIS vessels, from December 1 to December 13, Yamal LNG tankers delivered 10 shipments — up to 1 billion cubic meters of gas in the form of LNG. At the same time, since the beginning of November, only one cargo turned out to be transshipment. On November 3, the LNG Merak gas carrier left the Belgian Zeebrugge for Asia. Since then, another overload of Yamal LNG may occur in a few days — the Clean Ocean tanker has arrived in Zeebrugge.

Zeebrugge is the main LNG transshipment point in Europe for Novatek. Other terminals, in France and Spain, are also in use. But in these cases, obviously, we are talking about the fact that European owners of Yamal gas, including TotalEnergies and Naturgy, are already reselling it.

Traditionally, Novatek delivered LNG to Zeebrugge to optimize supplies to Asia when navigation along the Northern Sea Route is closed. From Yamal, cargoes are transported to Europe by ice—class gas carriers, and then ordinary ones. This year, the European Union adopted new sanctions against Russian LNG and in March it will be prohibited to transship Russian liquefied gas in EU ports.

Obviously, this is the reason for the sharp decrease in cargo transshipment in Zeebrugge.

Initially, Novatek had an excellent solution to exclude European ports from transshipment. Near Murmansk and on Floating storage facilities have been installed in Kamchatka, where the sea does not freeze. However, last year the UGS came under US sanctions. In April of this year, when rumors of sanctions appeared, Novatek restored the active transshipment of LNG from ship to ship in the Kilda Strait near Murmansk and for more than a month gas carriers reloaded shipments only there.

Obviously, this point will become the main one after the introduction of EU sanctions. According to AIS of vessels, the other day the icebreaker-class gas carrier Nikolay Urvantsev overloaded LNG to the Axios II tanker in the Kilda Strait. LNG Phecda is also coming from Asia to the same area.

The weather in the Arctic also contributed to the reduction of Yamal LNG transshipment in Europe. Four conventional tankers are going with Russian cargoes to Asia and received it at Yamal LNG itself.

If the Yamal project is actively working, then the situation with Arctic LNG — 2, which has come under direct US sanctions, is different. Some of the products were shipped to floating storage facilities near Murmansk and to Kamchatka, but never delivered a single batch to consumers. Seven gas carriers involved in work in the Russian Arctic have been placed under US sanctions and are now idle near Kolguev Island in the Barents Sea or Nakhodka in the Far East.

Some of these tankers were also involved in the transportation of Yamal LNG. Why, obviously, Novatek has now attracted the Axios II gas carrier of the Greek Capital Gas Ship Management to transport.

Also, since the second half of the summer, the Christophe de gas carrier has been idle. Margery." The tanker is not under sanctions, it serves Yamal LNG, but it is the only vessel of the project that belongs to the Russian Sovcomflot. The shipowner himself is under American restrictions. And European shipyards are afraid to repair the gas carrier, writes High North News. According to him, the vessel underwent preventive maintenance in China, but it did not become a full-fledged replacement for the European one and some of the equipment may remain inoperable.

The publication claims that a high-ranking representative of Novatek visited Washington the other day. High North News believes that the Russian company can count on a change in the US sanctions policy after Donald Trump comes to the White House.