An Arc7 ice-class liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier successfully loaded the first winter cargo from Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 project, which remains under Western sanctions.
The vessel — Christophe de Margerie — picked up LNG on December 19 at the Utrenniy terminal on the Yamal Peninsula and is now heading toward the Barents Sea for transfer or unloading near Murmansk.
The Christophe de Margerie could serve as a shuttle vessel, moving roughly 150,000 tonnes of LNG per month in favorable conditions.
Full winter export capability depends on adding more ice-class tankers, including additional domestically built Arc7 ships like the newly delivered Alexey Kosygin.