Russia Doubles Dark Fleet to Export Sanctioned Arctic LNG

The Federal Government of Russia nearly doubled its dark fleet of liquefied natural gas tankers in less than a year to sustain exports from the sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 facility. Ship-tracking data indicates the fleet grew from 11 vessels in December to at least 20 ships, including Russian-built ice-class vessels capable of year-round Arctic navigation.

China remains the sole buyer of the sanctioned fuel. This economic partnership was reinforced during a recent meeting between Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Kyrgyzstan. While the Biden administration previously imposed sanctions on the project and its supporting infrastructure, the Donald Trump administration has not yet restricted Chinese purchases of the fuel.

Shipping capacity continues to be the primary constraint for the project despite the fleet expansion. However, Rystad Energy has increased its 2026 production estimate for the facility to 5 million tons.