Russia is quietly expanding its shadow fleet for liquefied natural gas (LNG) transport, acquiring second-hand vessels while adding its first domestically built carriers. This move ahead of the European Union's ban on Russian LNG imports, set to take full effect in 2027, aims to secure alternative shipping routes.

Data from maritime intelligence firm Windward shows that at least eight second-hand LNG carriers have been transferred and deployed for Russian oil and gas operations over the past six months. This brings the fleet's total size to 25 ships, including two new vessels built at the Zvezda Shipyard in Russia. As related restrictions tighten in 2027, the growing fleet will ensure Russia's ability to export natural gas.

This strategy mirrors Russia's earlier use of a "dark fleet" of oil tankers to circumvent Western sanctions. The EU has progressively intensified its restrictions in an effort to cut the fossil fuel revenues that support the Kremlin's military operations in Ukraine.

"The model of a shadow fleet for oil first emerged in Iran and Venezuela. But no country facing sanctions has ever achieved Russia's current level of technological development for natural gas production," said Irina Mironova, a senior researcher at the Centre for Energy Development. She added, "This is a unique phenomenon."

In the first half of this year, nearly all output from the Yamal LNG project in Siberia was sold to EU countries. However, the EU will ban all imports of Russian LNG starting in 2027. Several Russian LNG projects, including Novatek's Arctic LNG 2 project, are already subject to individual sanctions.

Last week, the EU decreed that the sale of LNG carriers to Russian entities must be reported to Brussels. However, following intense lobbying from Greece, the EU did not impose a ban preventing EU-flagged vessels from transshipping LNG to third countries.

Russia's shadow fleet for oil now comprises over 1,000 vessels, operating outside Western insurance systems and regulatory frameworks. However, LNG carriers are far more complex and costly to build and operate than standard oil tankers, meaning Russia's buildup of a gas transport fleet has been comparatively slower.

An analysis of data from shipping analytics firm Kpler by media outlets revealed that four recently acquired LNG carriers by Russia are all used to transport cargo from sanctioned LNG terminals. These four vessels are now all flagged in Russia and given cohesive new names: "Kosmos" (meaning "Space" in Russian), "Orion," "Mercury," and "Luch" (meaning "Ray" in Russian).

Russia has also completed two LNG carriers at the Zvezda shipyard in the Far East. The first, "Aleksey Kosygin," was delivered to state-owned shipping giant Sovcomflot in December last year and has since been used to carry cargo from the Arctic LNG 2 project. The second ship, "Konstantin Posyet," held a naming ceremony this month.

Private company Novatek dominates Russia's LNG industry. According to data from Russia's state statistics agency, its core Yamal LNG plant, combined with the sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project, accounts for over 65% of the country's total LNG output. The Sakhalin-2 project in the Far East, operated by state-owned energy giant Gazprom, contributes 30% of the national total.

Previously, most LNG from unsanctioned projects was transported using ships chartered from foreign companies, including Greece's Dynagas, Japan's Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, and Sipac Shipping. But successive rounds of Western sanctions have forced Russia to diversify its shipping capacity by developing its own fleet.