A sanctioned liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker made a ship-to-ship (STS) transfer off the coast of Malaysia after picking up a cargo from a Russian export terminal also under Western restrictions, according to two analytics firms.
The operation appears to be the first known STS transfer of sanctioned Russian LNG, despite Western efforts to curb Moscow’s energy revenues over its war in Ukraine.
The LNG tanker Perle, which was sanctioned by the United States in January, had been carrying a cargo from the designated Russian export terminal in Portovaya on the Baltic Sea.
Estimates from analytics firms Kpler and Vortexa citing satellite imagery, automatic identification system (AIS) data and vessel draught changes show the Perle transferred its cargo to the tanker CCH Gas in the waters off the east coast of peninsular Malaysia and northeast of Singapore sometime between October 17-24.
Kpler data showed the ships were together starting on October 18 and again on October 23. That date was likely when the transfer took place as the Perle’s draught, or depth in the water, changed on October 24, confirming the STS discharge onto CCH Gas, Kpler analyst Go Katayama said.
Vortexa senior LNG analyst Ashley Sherman estimated the transfer took place on October 17-18, but added STS operations can extend across several days, and that the vessels appear to have been side-by-side again on October 23.
"The proximity of the vessels was typical of a ship-to-ship transfer, in what has become a well-known STS location for the shadow oil fleet," Sherman said.
Following the transfer, the Perle has travelled north through the Straits of Malacca and is now heading west towards the Indian Ocean, Kpler data showed. CCH Gas, which is not a sanctioned tanker, is stationary off the coast of peninsular Malaysia near where the STS occurred, according to Kpler.
The operator of the Portovaya terminal, Gazprom LNG Portovaya, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the transfer.
In January, Washington sanctioned the Portovaya and Vysotsk LNG terminals and their operators effective February 27.
The Perle loaded its cargo from Portovaya on February 13, idling around the terminal before making its way south around the Cape of Good Hope in July, and reaching Southeast Asia in August, according to Kpler data.
Vortexa’s Sherman said the Perle remained in the South China Sea from August until this month.
Shipping database Equasis lists the Perle’s registered owner as Nephrite Shipping, and its ship or commercial manager as Dreamer Shipmanagement, both with registered addresses in Dubai.
Equasis lists the registered owner and ship or commercial manager for CCH Gas as CCH-1 Shipping, with a registered address in Hong Kong.
Reuters could not find contact information for Nephrite Shipping, Dreamer Shipmanagement or CCH-1 Shipping
(Reporting by Emily Chow and Marwa Rashad, additional reporting by Sam Li in Beijing and Nerijus Adomaitis in Oslo; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)