Perle

The LNG tanker 'CCH Gas' (IMO 9307205) , carrying sanctioned Russian gas, has reappeared near Hainan Island on Nov 9, three weeks after a dark STS transfer. It was likely bound for the nearby Beihai terminal. The vessel had received its cargo from the 'Perle' in the first-ever ship-to-ship transfer of sanctioned Russian gas on Oct 18. Both vessels had attempted to hide their activity by spoofing their AIS signals. Satellite imagery showed the vessels side to side around 50 nautical miles off Malaysia’s coast. While the 'CCH Gas' had continued to send out a false AIS signal, the 'Perle' has since reengaged its transponder and made its way to Salalah. Following the transfer the vessels escaped further scrutiny due to cloudy weather and limited satellite coverage. The 'CCH Gas' is carrying supercooled gas from Russia’s sanctioned Baltic Portovaya plant. A successful delivery by the vessel would be a sign of China’s willingness to expand imports at Beihai beyond the Arctic LNG 2 project. The U.S. sanctioned the Portovaya facility on Jan 10. China is receiving up to 40 % discounts on Arctic LNG 2 deliveries. The landed cost of Arctic cargoes at Beihai was said to be around $7.00/MMBtu, substantially below existing spot rates. Due to a shortage of ice-class LNG carriers, Russian gas company Novatek will likely be forced to partially mothball the Arctic project for the next 6-8 months. Conventional gas tankers can no longer use the Arctic shortcut and are being routed via the Suez Canal.

On Oct 18, 2025, Russia has carried out its first ship-to-ship transfer of LNG, using the shadow fleet vessels 'Perle' and 'CCH Gas' (IMO: 9307205),, marking a new phase in Russia’s efforts to move energy exports outside Western oversight and sanctions. The 'Perle' was carrying cargo from Gazprom’s Portovaya LNG plant in the Baltic Sea. The U.S. sanctioned the facility in Jan 2025, and Gazprom has since then been unable to find any foreign buyers for its supercooled gas. The transfer took place around 50 nautical miles off Malaysia’s eastern coast in the hopes of obscuring its origin in an attempt to shield the buyer from sanctions. Report with photo: https://gcaptain.com/china-joins-russias-dark-fleet-with-first-ever-lng-ship-to-ship-transfer/

On 9 August 2018, the liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier Pskov completed loading at the Port of Sabetta (YNAD), with the first cargo of LNG produced from the second high-tech production line at the Yamal LNG plant. Yesterday marked the launch of the second production train at Yamal LNG, which happened six months ahead of schedule. Pskov is a state-of-the-art Atlanticmax LNG carrier with a cargo capacity of 170,000 cubic metres. She was built to order for Sovcomflot Group in 2014, to transport LNG under a long-term time charter agreement with Gazprom. The vessel is currently sub-chartered to Yamal LNG and transports LNG from the Yamal Peninsula to West European ports.

Sovcomflot’s LNG carrier Pskov set off for her maiden voyage on September 10, 2014. The vessel left port Progorodnoye for port Incheon (Korean Republik), says press center of Transas Group. The Pskov is the second in the series of four membrane-type gas carriers of 170,000 cubic meters being built by STX Offshore & Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. under the order of Russia’s largest shipping company Sovcomflot. The vessel was delivered to the customer on August 29, 2014. The lead vessel Velikiy Novgorod was launched on January 15, 2013.

Gazprom Marketing & Trading’s (GM&T) newly delivered LNG carrier ‘Pskov’ has received bunkers (Heavy Fuel Oil and Marine Gas Oil) at the port of Nakhodka in the Primorskiy Region of Russia. This marks the first time a GM&T time-chartered LNG vessel bunkered in a Russian port. Bunkers were provided by another Gazprom subsidiary – GazpromNeft Marine Bunker. Upon completion of the bunkering operation, ‘Pskov’ proceeded to the port of Prigorodnoye where the LNG terminal of the Gazprom-majority owned ‘Sakhalin-2’ project is located. After completing the gassing up and cooling down of her cargo tanks and loading LNG, the vessel will deliver her maiden cargo to a GM&T customer in Asia. Nikolai Grigoriev, Managing Director of Shipping, GM&T, said, “The port of Nakhodka is an increasingly important international bunkering hub which provides cost savings and voyage optimisation opportunities for companies operating in Asia. Bunkering our time-chartered LNG/c ‘Pskov’ at Nakhodka is a milestone for the GM&T group, as it signifies our expanding shipping capability and flexibility which is particularly relevant for our future projects in the region such as Vladivostok LNG.” LNG/c ‘Pskov’ is a state-of-the-art LNG carrier featuring membrane tanks with cargo capacity of 170,200 cubic meters, Ice2 ice class and winterisation capability and is powered by a tri-fuel diesel-electric propulsion system. She is on a long-term charter to GM&T from Sovcomflot and is the fifth in GM&T’s fleet of Ice class vessels.