Russian LNG Carrier Stops in Northern Norway’s Honningsvåg, Again
LNG carrier Vladimir Voronin off the coast of Honningsvåg on 15 April 2023. (Source: Courtesy of Kjell-Bendik Pedersen)
Russian liquefied natural gas carriers continue to use Norway’s Arctic fjords as convenient stopover points, exchanging crews and taking on provisions. Over the weekend a Yamal LNG tanker stopped outside Honningsvåg for 18 hours before proceeding to Murmansk.
Norway’s Nordkapp region continues to be a stopover point for liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers transporting Russian supercooled gas.
It’s been five years since the waters around Honningsvåg were last used for the direct ship-to-ship transfer of Arctic gas from Russia’s Yamal LNG project.
And while the direct transshipment in Norwegian waters has stopped, vessels in service of Russian energy projects continue using Norway’s coastal infrastructure for crew exchanges and provisioning.
The latest visit occurred over the weekend when Hong Kong-flagged 174,000-cbm carrier LNG Merak spent approximately 18 hours outside Honningsvåg before continuing its voyage to Russia’s Yamal peninsula.
AIS track of LNG Merak stopping in Honningsvåg before traveling onward to Murmansk, Russia. (Source: Shipatlas)
Norway remains open
Other port facilities and service providers in Europe have begun to step away from welcoming these vessels in service of Russia, even when the vessels have not been placed under direct Western sanctions.
Most notably Damen Shiprepair in Brest, France has stopped offering its repair and maintenance services to the fleet of 15 Yamal gas carriers. Its decision poses significant operational challenges to the vessels’ operators, including Seapeak and Dynagas.
Damen’s decision now leaves only Danish Fayard A/S as the sole provider of drydock service in Europe. Fayard’s Odense facility has seen a steady stream of Yamal LNG tankers entering its facility this summer. But some vessels are now required to head to China to receive drydock services.
Carefully calibrated logistics
The Yamal carrier Nikolay Urvantsev traveled to a yard near Shanghai. The long detour took it out of service for several weeks.
Provisioning and crew exchanges in the waters outside Honningsvåg form part of a carefully calibrated logistics chain to efficiently operate the vessels.
No legal authority
The Nordkapp waters are located directly in the path to the Yamal project requiring only a minimal detour to transfer crews and receive supplies.
Passing through
Norwegian officials have long stated that they don’t have the legal authority to ban unsanctioned vessels from entering territorial waters and receiving services. The port of Honningsvåg equally stated that it is not involved in the process.
In the past Norwegian agent GAC Norway provided services to Russian gas tankers passing through Honningsvåg.
The company did not respond to inquiries if it was involved in LNG Merak’s stopover, but previously stated to HNN that it “operates strictly within applicable regulations and industry standards, including ISPS and customs requirements.”
It said it was unable to further discuss client arrangements or disclose specifics about vessel operations.
For the moment Norway remains a key stopover point for tankers carrying Russian LNG to global markets.
