Russian gas tanker tests boundaries as US sanctions bite
A gas carrier loaded with Russian gas has anchored off the coast of Spain. Determining whether and to whom it will be possible to sell LNG, which is now under recent U.S. sanctions, will test their effectiveness.
At the end of last month, the bulk carrier Cool Rover, currently docked near Spain and Portugal, departed from the Russian Portovaya LNG plant. According to Bloomberg data, this ship, owned by Gazprom PJSC, was still delivering to Europe last year.
Cool Rover is expected to be the first gas carrier to gauge the willingness of buyers to circumvent the latest sanctions imposed on Friday by the U.S. government against Russian LNG plants.
Russian plants under pressure
The Portovaya plant in northwestern Russia has been added to Washington's sanctions list, which targets Russian hydrocarbons. It is the first LNG export facility to be sanctioned in an attempt to weaken Moscow's financial capabilities in the context of the war in Ukraine. These efforts aim to discourage buyers from importing gas from Russia.
Although the effects of the sanctions are not typically immediate, the imposition of restrictions on Arctic LNG 2 in 2023 has prompted buyers to exercise caution due to the potential financial consequences that may conflict with Washington's policy, Bloomberg notes.
Portovaya and Vysotsk LNG, operated by Novatek PJSC, exported approximately 2.3 million tons of LNG last year, accounting for about 0.6 percent of the world's exports in 2024.
Sanctions are a crucial part of the international strategy aimed at halting financing for Russia's war in Ukraine by reducing revenues from trade in hydrocarbons.
