Kpler reports that four tankers are still at sea, with cargoes not sold with Arctic LNG 2.

According to ship tracking agency Kpler data, four tankers carrying Russian Arctic LNG 2 are still at sea. This highlights the difficulties of the U.S. sanctioned project for the sale of seaborne gas.

The agency reported that on Monday, the tankers were seen crossing the seas without indicating a destination. This is because the market still anticipates a possible delivery to a customer.

According to Kpler, tankers carrying LNG make up 40% of the so-called dark fleet of 10 Russian LNG-ferrying ships identified by the agency. These vessels have been sanctioned in the West.

The dark fleet is a group of tankers that are deliberately operating to circumvent Western sanctions in order to transport goods.

According to Kpler, these include the Pioneer, with a volume of 138,000 cubic meters, Asya Energy, (137,200 cube metres), Nova Energy, (150,000 cube metres) and Everest Energy, (138,028 square metres).

Western sanctions are imposed on the Arctic LNG 2 project owned 60% by Russia's Novatek, due to Russia's conflict in Ukraine.

Novatek denies involvement in the establishment and management of a "shadow Fleet" for Arctic LNG 2 Project.

The four tankers loaded with fuel are not known to be heading in the same direction. Asya Energy has a hold pattern while Pioneer is moving at full speed. Ana Subasic is a Kpler Insight analyst who specializes in LNG and natural gases.

We believe that certain players like China will look to take advantage of the heavily discounted spot volume on offer.

Sanctions have ruined the project's prospects. It was set to be one of Russia’s largest LNG plants, with a production of 19,8 million metric tonnes per year. The project began exporting in August but no one knows who the final user is.

Recent ship tracking data shows that several cargoes have been picked up by the project.

The vessels were unloaded at two storage sites, located near the Arctic port Murmansk in Russia and on the peninsula of Kamchatka in the Pacific.

Kpler said that four other tankers could also be seen gathered offshore of the Kolguyev Island, in the Barents Sea.

North Air, La Perouse and North Sky are all examples of these, each with a 174,000 cubic metre capacity. (Reporting and Editing by Emelia Matarise Sithole)

(source: Reuters)