Russia is increasing the number of ships in its shadow fleet for transporting liquefied natural gas (LNG), which is under US sanctions, by adding four more tankers that previously belonged to Oman.
Bloomberg writes about this.
Monitoring services indicate that one of the tankers, the Kosmos, has docked near the floating storage facility Saam near Murmansk and is likely to have loaded Russian LNG. Three other vessels, the Mercury, Orion, and Promin, have already loaded fuel from Saam or are preparing to dock at the facility.
The Saam is storing gas from Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 project, which is under U.S. sanctions. Due to the harsh Arctic conditions, this LNG can only be transported by icebreakers for most of the year, so a shortage of tankers has long been a problem for Russian exports.
According to the agency, the Kosmos transferred to the Russian flag and changed its name in early 2026. The tanker Mercury, which was loaded with LNG in May, is likely headed for Asia, while the Orion and Promin are moving to a floating gas storage facility.
According to Bloomberg, Russia now has at least 20 tankers to transport sanctioned LNG. The additional vessels could help Moscow increase exports amid high demand for gas in Asia and rising prices due to reduced supplies through the Strait of Hormuz.
What is known about the Russian shadow fleet?
In early December 2022, the G7 members, as well as Australia and the EU, imposed price caps on Russian oil, setting a maximum price of $60 per barrel. In January 2026, the European Union announced a reduction in the price of Russian oil to $44.1 per barrel from February 1, 2026.
To circumvent oil sanctions, Russia has begun to form a shadow fleet. This is a fleet of old tankers that turn off their beacons so that they cannot be seen by surveillance systems. They are operated mostly by the Russian state company “Suchkomflot”. With its help, the Russian Federation transports an estimated 1.7 million barrels of oil per day, which brings large profits to the Kremlin.
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