By opening and utilizing the "Northern Sea Route" (NSR) due to the reduction of polar ice, Russia has created a secure corridor for the transportation of oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG). This route is under Moscow's complete control, significantly reducing the risk of cargo seizures and drone attacks on oil terminals.
In Line with Development Plans
This action is fully aligned with Vladimir Putin's plan to develop the "Trans-Arctic Transport Corridor," aimed at linking the Baltic, Arctic, and Far East regions of Russia. The importance of this route will be further enhanced with the extension of pipelines from the "Volkhov" area (near St. Petersburg) towards "Murmansk."
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Currently, in addition to the "Varandey" terminal, the "Sever Bay" terminal at the mouth of the "Yenisei" River was also opened last month to cover the export of the "Arctic 2" and "Vostok" fields through a 500-mile pipeline in the tundra.
Challenges of Sanctions and Shadow Fleet
The first LNG carrier of the Arc7 class named "Alexey Kosygin" (IMO 9904546) will make its maiden voyage to "Sever Bay" in December 2025, and its sister ship "Peter Stolypin" (IMO 9904675) will soon be operational. However, since these vessels and feeder tankers like "Akademik Gubnik" (IMO 9842190) are all under sanctions, the security of this route is only maintained until the end of the polar corridor.
"Shadow fleet" tankers, after exiting the northern route, are forced to use methods to bypass sanctions and conduct ship-to-ship (STS) transfers to conceal the origin of cargoes when delivering to customers in Asia and China. Vessels departing from Primorsk or conducting intermediate operations in Murmansk previously utilized the protected bay of "Nakhodka" (near the naval base of Fokino).
However, data from the SynMax information institute indicates that Moscow has changed its tactics; four sanctioned "black fleet" tankers have been observed conducting sensitive STS operations 65 miles east of "Chongjin" in North Korea and in the open waters of the Sea of Japan. The tanker Mirabel (flag of Oman - IMO 9511521) was transferring oil to Lumin (flag of Sierra Leone - IMO 9330599) while the tanker Jagger (flag of Russia - IMO 9354301) was transferring oil to Navistar (flag of Cameroon - IMO 9296810).
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