Cargo Shipment from Belgium to Russia Highlights Continued Flow of LNG Technology from EU
Jian Yang Cheng Xiang heavy lift carrier. (Source: Shenzhen Shenjian Shipping Authority)
A cargo delivery from Antwerp in Belgium to Novatek’s Yamal LNG plant in the Russian Arctic raises questions about the effectiveness of EU sanctions. The Antwerp shipment is part of a much larger problem. By some accounts European companies have supplied more $600m worth of equipment to Russia since the beginning of the war.
It’s the summer of 2024 and against all odds Russia has managed to begin production at its Arctic LNG 2 project. While all eyes were focused on its growing shadow fleet of LNG tankers attempting to carry sanctioned supercooled gas to markets, a Chinese cargo vessel traveled, seemingly unnoticed, from Antwerp, Belgium to Sabetta, Russia. Its cargo: unknown.
A HNN investigation shows heavy lift vessel Jian Yang Cheng Xiang loading a 50-meter long, white, oblong object at Antwerp’s Churchilldok at the end of August 2024. It arrived at Sabetta, the home of Novatek’s Yamal LNG plant, two weeks later.
HNN has been unable to independently verify the specifics of the vessel’s cargo. Several experts HNN showed satellite images to had differing views on what the object was. Their conclusions ranged from coil wound heat exchangers and distillation columns to storage tanks. But all agreed that it was likely equipment used in the liquefaction of natural gas.
The transfer of such technology from the EU to Russia has been prohibited since mid-2022. Under the EU’s 5th sanction package a broad ban has been put into place concerning the “supply, transfer, or export, directly or indirectly, of goods and technologies suited for use in the [...] liquefaction of natural gas.”
Prior shipments to Russia from Antwerp
Antwerp’s Churchilldok is not unknown when it comes to deliveries in support of Russia’s LNG projects. In May 2022 heavy lift carrier Audax loaded supplies for Novatek’s Arctic LNG 2 project at the same berth. The vessel delivered its cargo to Murmansk days before Western sanctions against the transfer of technology took effect. The U.S. has since sanctioned both Audax and its owner Red Box.
Even if Jian Yang Cheng Xiang’s delivery does not violate current sanctions, it serves as an example of continued supply of Western material in support of Russia’s LNG industry.
A number of recent investigations highlight how European companies continue to transfer technology worth hundreds of millions of dollars, either directly or via third parties outside the EU. By some estimates EU companies delivered $630m of equipment to Russia between February 2022 and March 2024.
Jian Yang Cheng Xiang’s voyage from Antwerp to Sabetta in August and September 2024. (Source: Shipatlas)
Chinese heavy lift vessel Jian Yang Cheng Xiang arrived in the port of Antwerp on August 19, 2024. Images show the loading of a ~50 meter-long object. Six days later the vessel departed in the direction of the Arctic.
Satellite images taken on August 19 and August 25, 2024 showing Jian Yang Cheng Xiang in Antwerp’s Churchilldok being loaded with an approximately 50 meter long object. (Source: Planet.com)
Massive liquefied gas projects like Yamal LNG and Arctic LNG 2 rely on hundreds of Western companies and suppliers. Russian customs documents analyzed by HNN for the years 2022 and 2023 show the delivery of close to 9,000 items. They include the import of more than two dozen coil wound heat exchangers and distillation columns, via Italy, Turkey, and China.
In an effort to reduce dependency on Western suppliers, Russia has begun manufacturing equipment domestically since 2022; though large equipment, like some coil wound heat exchangers, may remain outside its capabilities industry sources confirm. As Yamal LNG approaches a decade of production in the coming years, the need for spare parts will become greater, experts told HNN.
No comment from Belgian officials
HNN reached out to several former suppliers of technology to Russia about the Antwerp shipment. German industrial gas company Linde was the only one to respond.
Prior to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the implementation of sanctions the company was a key technology supplier to Novatek’s LNG projects. According to a company report it operates a satellite workshop for LNG equipment in Antwerp. Linde was quick to point out that it no longer does business with Russia.
“Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Linde has ceased all business activities in and with Russia and operates in strict compliance with all applicable global sanctions. Linde is not supplying technology or components to companies in Russia and has internal procedures to prevent circumventing sanctions. We are neither directly nor indirectly involved in the shipment in question,” a spokesperson for Linde said in an emailed statement.
Jian Yang Cheng Xiang voyage information. (Source: Vesselfinder.com)
Nearly two dozen inquiries with the Port of Antwerp, Belgium customs, the Ministries of Finance and Economics, including divisions working on sanctions and exports either remained unanswered or the officials did not want to speak on the record due to the sensitive nature of the subject. The vessel’s owner, Anhui Aoxin Shipping Co Ltd, similarly, did not respond to a request for comment.
Arriving at Novatek’s Yamal LNG plant in Sabetta
After an uneventful journey taking advantage of ice-free seas during the summer, Jian Yang Cheng Xiang arrived at Sabetta on September 9, 2024. Satellite images taken two days later show the vessel moored with the cargo still on board. It departed from Sabetta a week later on September 16.
Previous investigations by HNN detailed the delivery of equipment by a Chinese yard, Wison New Energies, and Singaporean shipping operator, Red Box. Both cases showed the transfer of large prefabricated modules containing LNG technology and weighing up to 20,000 tons.
While specifics of Jian Yang Cheng Xiang’s voyage from Antwerp remain unknown, its sailing nonetheless raises questions about the continued flow of supplies from the EU directly to Russian LNG plants.
