The ban on transshipment of Russian LNG to the EU has started working: gas carriers are going near Murmansk

A ban on the transshipment of Russian LNG for further export outside the EU countries has come into force in the EU. Novatek was ready for sanctions. This year, most of the overloads have already been carried out near Murmansk.

On March 26, the EU ban on transshipment of Russian LNG in EU ports for further export to third countries came into force. Future restrictions were announced back in June 2024.

The largest transshipment terminal was the Belgian Zeebrugge, which had a long-term contract with Novatek. The Russian company could carry out operations with a volume of up to 8 million tons of LNG (11 billion cubic meters) per year. Also, the transshipment of the Yamal LNG and Cryogas Vysotsk batches took place in Montreux, France.

However, back in May last year, on the eve of the announcement of sanctions, Novatek conducted a month—long experiment on large-scale overloads near Murmansk - in the Gulf of Kilda. There it does not happen through the terminal, but from ship to ship. Then we carried out five overloads in a row. According to ICIS, this year the number of overloads in the north of Russia exceeded all those that occurred in Europe.

Therefore, obviously, Novatek was prepared for the imposition of sanctions. According to the AIS of the vessels, on March 26, an ice-class gas carrier Vladimir Visa, which comes from Yamal LNG, and an LNG tanker Seapeak Yamal were on the approach to Kilda Bay. LNG transshipment is used to optimize cargo delivery to Asia during the absence of navigation along the Northern Sea Route. Thus, ice-class icebreakers are released, which are capable of entering Yamal LNG at any time of the year.

As reported by EADaily, experts believe that the ban on transshipment of Russian LNG in European ports may lead to an increase in liquefied gas supplies from Russia in the EU. It will be more profitable for Asian clients of Yamal LNG to resell shipments in the European Union or exchange them for the same volumes from the USA with European traders.

Brussels stated that the ban on the import of Russian LNG is not on the agenda until a decent alternative appears. Brussels expects that by 2027 in the United States and Qatar will launch new LNG projects and the EU will be able to completely abandon Russian fuel.