European ports are fixing Russian Arctic gas tankers despite sanctions - FT
European shipyards continue to fix Russian tankers transporting gas through the Arctic, despite Western sanctions.
This is reported by the Financial Times, Censor.NET informs.
As noted, in particular, Damen in Brest (France) and Fayard A/S in Denmark continue to provide maintenance to Russian ice-class tankers transporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Yamal.
According to satellite imagery and tracking data from Kpler, the shipyards have serviced 14 of the 15 specialized Arc7 tankers that transport gas from Yamal. Some of these vessels visited the shipyards several times.
"If these shipyards were to become unavailable, the entire logistics operation would be at risk. They could have found another place to service, but it would have taken them significantly off route," said Malte Humpert, an Arctic shipping expert at High North News who tracks the movement of these vessels.
Since the outbreak of war in Ukraine in February 2022, eight tankers have called on the Brest shipyard and nine on a shipyard in Denmark. Most of these vessels belong to energy and shipping companies, including Greece's Dynagas.
Damen representatives confirmed that they had serviced "several vessels related to the transportation of Russian LNG," but emphasized that this was done "strictly in accordance with European sanctions legislation."
"There are no plans to repair these LNG vessels in the near future," Damen added.
Meanwhile, the activities of these vessels and shipyards are not subject to sanctions due to the energy transportation exception, as the tankers do not fly the Russian flag. Without maintenance from European shipyards, specialized tankers would not be able to successfully perform their tasks.
According to the newspaper, the only tanker that has not used these shipyards is the Christophe de Margerie, owned by Russia's Sovcomflot, which has been sanctioned.
In December 2023, the EU imposed sanctions on the Christophe de Margerie, which was the first case of restrictions on Yamal's operations. The US has already imposed several waves of sanctions on this project.
As a reminder, 10 European Union countries have proposed further sanctions on trade with Russia, including the production of metals such as aluminum, in order to further reduce the country's revenues and finance its war against Ukraine.
