EU shipyards repair Russian Arctic gas tankers despite sanctions - media

Financial Times reported the information.

It is noted that without the maintenance provided by Damen shipyards in France and Fayard A/S in Denmark, the Russian plant Yamal LNG would struggle to access key markets during the winter period when gas prices in the Northern Hemisphere are traditionally the highest.

Satellite images and vessel movement data from Kpler indicate that these shipyards service 14 out of 15 specialized Arc7 tankers, which transport LNG from the Yamal LNG plant on Russia's northern coast, with some vessels returning for servicing multiple times.

Arctic transport expert Malte Humpert from High North News believes that closing these shipyards would seriously complicate logistics operations. In his opinion, alternative servicing is possible, but it would require significant deviations from existing routes.

According to the publication, since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, eight tankers have undergone maintenance at Damen, and nine at Fayard A/S. Representatives of Damen confirmed that they had repaired several vessels involved in the transport of Russian LNG, emphasizing that the shipyard strictly adhered to European sanctions and did not influence the cargo selection by shipping companies. Meanwhile, Fayard declined to comment.

The only tanker that has not been serviced at either of these shipyards is Christophe de Margerie, owned by the sanctioned Russian company Sovcomflot.

• On January 10, the U.S. announced the imposition of sanctions against several Russian oil and insurance companies. The list of sanctioned enterprises includes Surgutneftegaz, Gazprom Neft, Ingosstrakh, AlfaStrakhovanie, and Radkomflot.
• The United Kingdom, following the United States, has imposed sanctions against Russia's largest oil giants, Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas.
• On January 14, the European Commission began consultations with EU countries on the 16th package of sanctions against Russia. Poland, currently presiding over the EU, hopes it will be adopted by the third anniversary of the war in Ukraine.
• Economist Oleh Pendzin, member of the Economic Discussion Club, noted that the new U.S. sanctions package imposes restrictions on two Russian companies that provide insurance for Russian shadow fleet tankers.