{
  "id": 3564793,
  "title": "Russia expands its LNG carrier fleet for gas shipments to China ahead of planned EU ban",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/26/russia-expands-its-lng-carrier-fleet-for-gas-shipments-to-china-ahead",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-26T18:17:31.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Insider",
    "slug": "the-insider",
    "url": "https://theins.press/en/news/296464"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Russian gas company Novatek and its partners are expanding the fleet of LNG carriers supporting the sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project as shipments to China surge. With sea ice melting, 2.3 million metric tons of sanctioned Russian LNG have been transported via the Northern Sea Route since the beginning of 2026, according to Reuters. At least 31 cargoes have been shipped to the Chinese port of Beihai using vessels including Voskhod, Arctic Pioneer, and Arctic Metagaz. However, the Arctic Metagaz was attacked by a drone in the Mediterranean Sea in March. Despite sanctions since 2023, including on some infrastructure and serving vessels, Novatek and partners keep increasing production and exports. Currently, 18 LNG carriers are involved in shipments, including new Aleksey Kosygin and Konstantin Posiet, built at Russia’s Zvezda shipyard. Some of these older carriers, such as Merkuriy, Luch, Kosmos, Orion, Arctic Express, Chaivo, and Avacha, have already transported LNG near the Kola Peninsula. Russia plans to build two more LNG carriers in 2026-2027 to handle the growing demand, which is expected to continue after the EU's full ban on Russian LNG, set to take effect on January 1, 2027.",
  "summary": "Russian gas giant Novatek and its partners are expanding the fleet of liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers servicing the sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project. Thanks to shrinking sea ice, shipments of sanctioned Russian LNG via the Northern Sea Route have reached a record level, The Barents Observer reports . According to Reuters , since the start of 2026 at least 31 cargoes totalling 2.3 million…",
  "key_points": [
    "Russian LNG carrier fleet expands for China shipments.",
    "2.3 million metric tons transported via Northern Sea Route.",
    "Two more LNG carriers to be built before EU ban in 2027."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}