EU Sanctions 3 Japanese LNG Carriers For Shipping Gas From Russian Facility

The European Union has imposed sanctions on three Japanese-owned LNG carriers that recently transported liquefied natural gas from Russia’s Yamal LNG facility to Asia.

The LNG vessels- North Moon, North Ocean, and North Light- are owned and managed by Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd (MOL), Japan’s second largest shipping company.

All three ships were built in 2024 and are ice-class Arc4 tankers designed to operate in Arctic waters. They were added to the EU’s 17th package of sanctions against Russia, which was officially adopted by the European Council on May 20.

According to shipping data and European officials, the three MOL vessels recently carried transshipped cargoes from the Yamal LNG project, which is majority-owned by Novatek PJSC, a major Russian gas company.

Although Yamal LNG itself is not under direct EU sanctions, the involvement of foreign-flagged and managed vessels in its supply chain has drawn increasing scrutiny.

The European Council stated that the ships were “operated in such a way as to contribute or support actions or policies for the exploitation, development or expansion of the energy sector in Russia, including energy infrastructure.”

The vessels loaded cargoes near Murmansk, where Yamal shipments are transferred from icebreaking Arc7 ships such as the Nikolay Urvantsev to conventional LNG carriers. While the EU’s ban on Russian LNG transshipment at European ports came into effect on March 26, Russia has shifted this activity to its own territory.

As a result, these LNG shipments are now going directly from Murmansk to Asian markets, increasing voyage times but allowing the trade to continue. Bloomberg data shows that none of the sanctioned MOL ships delivered LNG to Europe after the ban came into effect.

According to Kpler data, North Ocean delivered an LNG cargo to Taiwan on April 19. North Moon and North Light had earlier been delivered to Dalian port in northern China on March 17 and Jieyang port in southern China on April 1.

Both North Moon and North Light are currently en route to Asia with Yamal LNG cargoes.

Responding to the sanctions, a Mitsui OSK Lines spokesperson said that the company is carefully assessing the impact on its operations and will fully cooperate with the relevant authorities, including the European Union and the Japanese government.”

The company also said it will “remain committed to complying with all applicable laws, regulations, and international rules” and will “take appropriate measures as necessary, in accordance with our rights and obligations.”

The three vessels are part of a four-ship order placed by MOL with Hanwha Ocean (formerly Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering) in September 2021, before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. These LNG carriers were contracted for charters with Novatek Gas & Power Asia, a subsidiary of Novatek.

A fourth sister ship, the North Valley, was delivered from South Korea in March 2025 and arrived in the Barents Sea this month. As of now, North Valley has not been sanctioned.

The MOL ships are described as a mirror order to a separate set of four similar LNG vessels previously delivered to Japan’s NYK Line, which were later transferred to White Fox Ship Management, a Dubai-based company.

Those vessels, also prefixed with “North,” are already under US and EU sanctions and are widely believed to be part of Russia’s shadow fleet.

MOL also has three Arc7 LNG carriers and one condensate carrier still under construction at Hanwha Ocean, which are currently stalled due to sanctions affecting subcontractors involved in their development.

The company has previously said that it is considering renegotiating the charter agreements for these vessels or selling them to third parties if no agreement is reached.

References: Bloomberg, Japan Times

Source: Maritime Shipping News