Russia Doubles Dark Fleet to Ship LNG to Asia

In a nine-month span, Russia has doubled the size of its dark fleet of opaque-owned LNG carriers, according to a Bloomberg analysis of vessel-tracking data published on Tuesday. As of December 2025, the number of these vessels has reached at least 20, including a newly added ice-class vessel that can navigate Arctic waters year-round, reported Bloomberg.

Since Russia's Arctic LNG 2 export project was sanctioned by the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom in 2024, and as the EU plans to phase out Russian LNG imports by the end of this year, Moscow has been discreetly building up a fleet of dark fleet LNG carriers to transport its gas to Asia, where it will soon be sanctioned in Europe.

The sanctioned Christophe De Margerie ice-class LNG tanker has been exporting cargoes to China despite the sanctions. Now, another ice-class vessel, built in Russia, is being added to the dark fleet, along with several others, as Moscow seeks to continue selling its gas in Asia as the EU has barred Russian LNG imports. However, only China is currently willing to purchase Arctic LNG 2 cargoes, which limits the potential market for new Russian LNG customers and may enable China to exert influence over pricing.

In a June report, maritime intelligence firm Windward noted that Russia has been acquiring older LNG carriers for its dark fleet in anticipation of the EU sanctions on the LNG sector, which are set to take effect on January 1, 2027. These sanctions restrict which vessels can dock at LNG terminals in EU jurisdictions, compelling Russia to establish an alternative carrier base to maintain LNG export capacity outside Western frameworks.