EU Sanctions Russian ‘Shadow Fleet’ Vessels Routinely Passing Through Norwegian Waters, Stopping at Honningsvåg
LNG carrier Vladimir Voronin off the coast of Honningsvåg on 15 April 2023. (Source: Courtesy of Kjell-Bendik Pedersen)
A liquefied natural gas carrier working for Russia’s Yamal LNG project stopped in Honningsvåg in Northern Norway last week. Now the EU has sanctioned the vessel. Will Norwegian authorities put an end to allowing Russian LNG vessels resupplying in the country’s ports?
Russian LNG carriers, some part of the country’s ‘shadow fleet’ continue passing through Norwegian waters, with some resupplying at Honningsvåg. More than half a dozen visits were recorded over the past few months.
The EU has now taken action against three brand new gas carriers in its 17th sanctions package announced yesterday. One of the vessels, North Light, stopped at Honningsvåg just last week, shipping records show.
The sanctions come as a surprise as Brussels had thus far largely shied away from targeting LNG vessels transporting gas for Yamal LNG – the EU remains the project’s largest customer.
Three brand new LNG tankers
The vessels in question are North Ocean, North Light, and North Moon. All three entered service just months ago, with some on their first or second voyages. A fourth vessel of the same series, North Valley, appears to have escaped sanctions this time around, likely because it is so new that it has not yet carried any Russian gas.
LNG carrier North Light in the waters outside Honningsvåg on May 14, 2025. (Source: Magic Port AI)
The EU justified its decision saying that the vessels “are 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 EU decision is especially noteworthy because the three sanctioned vessels are managed by reputable Japanese firm Mitsui OSK Line Ltd. (MOL), the world’s largest operator of LNG carriers. It wasn’t immediately clear if MOL would attempt to offload the vessels from its portfolio. The four North-series vessels represent a $1 billion investment. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The inclusion of MOL-vessels shows the ever-widening net the EU is casting in an effort to rein in Russia’s oil and gas exports. In this latest round of sanctions it included 189 new vessels bringing the total to 349.
A hit against Novatek
The sanctioning of North Moon, North Ocean, and North Light is especially potent as Novatek, the operator of Yamal LNG, had begun using them for ship-to-ship transfers following the EU’s transshipment ban.
Simply put, the EU stopped allowing Russia to transfer LNG in European ports, forcing Novatek to resort to transfer LNG at sea from one tanker to another. This type of operation requires additional tankers.
Now Novatek will have to try and find replacements to keep its logistics chain functioning.
The EU move also highlights the lax attitude of Norwegian authorities toward permitting Russian LNG carriers in its territorial waters and ports. Honningsvåg has become a routine stopover point for vessels carrying Russian gas. Authorities have long suggested that Norway has no legal means of disallowing this practice.
However, Russian oil tankers have been barred from Norway’s ports. The latest EU measures suggest that even vessels from reputable operators like MOL can be targeted by sanctions and blocked from entering European ports.
The practice of permitting Russian-controlled vessels into Norwegian ports may also be a security concern as a recent HNN investigation uncovered.