UK and Japan crack down on Russia’s largest shipping company

On October 1st, the UK and Japan took action against Russia's largest shipping company, Sovcomflot, and its subsidiaries. The UK listed eight ships and Novatek Gas and Power Asia, the Singapore-based chartering arm of Novatek, citing their involvement in trading Russian LNG to third countries. Japan also imposed sanctions on individual vessels and froze assets belonging to 33 Russian entities and nine individuals.

These sanctions target vessels owned, operated, or linked to Sovcomflot, the shipping group responsible for the new Arc7 ice-class carriers.

Arctic LNG 2, a major Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility, has already exported 0.95 million tonnes since July, more than double the 2025 total. The sanctions authorities are focusing on the fleet while it is still being built up, targeting vessels before they begin trading. This change means a vessel can now be sanctioned before any cargo is carried, based on its intended role in Russian LNG projects rather than its trading history alone.

The UK added 31 entries to its Russia sanctions list on October 1st, including the three new Arc7 ice-class carriers (ALEKSEY KOSYGIN, KONSTANTIN POSIET, and PYOTR STOLYPIN) and three older conventional carriers. The Japanese sanctions, announced a day later, included asset freezes on 33 Russian entities and nine individuals. Both countries targeted different parts of Russian shipping, but they share a common pattern: they include vessels owned, operated, or linked to Sovcomflot.