Valera

On Dec 8, 2025, the 'Valera' has arrived at Tieshan Xingang and berthed at the Beihai LNG Terminal, carrying sanctioned liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Gazprom’s Portovaya LNG plant. This marked the first delivery to China from the blacklisted plant since U.S. sanctions targeted the facility in Jan 2025. The 'Valera'’s arrival at Beihai cemented the terminal’s growing role as a preferred destination for sanctioned Russian LNG. Since August, the facility has been receiving cargoes from the blacklisted Arctic LNG 2 project, and nearly 20 such shipments of Russian origin have been offloaded there since. Several additional cargoes were currently en route. The latest shipment began on Oct 25, when thd 'Valera' departed the Baltic Sea terminal. The tankeg itself is also under sanctions by the U.S. and UK for its involvement in Russia’s shadow fleet, transporting Russian energy. Unlike several other Russian-controlled tankers, that recently returned to transiting the Suez Canal, the 'Valera' took the longer route around the Cape of Good Hope. Thr shipment to the terminal in the Guangxi province was the first time China has publicly received gas from the U.S.-sanctioned Portovaya plant. A previous attempt in October involved a dark fleet ship-to-ship transfer of LNG off the coast of Malaysia between tankers 'Perle' and 'CCH Gas', which received a sanctioned Portovaya cargo during that operation and has not called at any Chinese port since. Its exact whereabouts remained uncertain despite satellite imagery placing it south of Hainan last month. The 'Valera' broadcast continuous AIS signals throughout its journey and during its approach to Beihai, a departure from the increasingly common practice of AIS spoofing designed to mask the origin of sanctioned oil or gas. The transparency of the delivery is a sign of further reduction in Chinese reservations to receive sanctioned Russian products, signaling a willingness to continue its energy engagement with Russia.

Sovcomflot, Russia’s largest shipping company, has taken delivery of its latest LNG carrier – the ‘Velikiy Novgorod’ – from South Korea’s STX Offshore & Shipbuilding. The ship is equipped with a diesel-electric, dual-fuel propulsion system consisting of 2 × MAN 8L51/60DF and 2 × MAN 9L51/60DF engines, offering a total rated power of 34 MW, which were constructed at MAN Diesel & Turbo’s Augsburg plant in Germany, MAN Diesel & Turbo said in its press release. The Velikiy Novgorod has been designed for sailing through sea ice and has an Arctic ice classification. The vessel has a total length of 300 m and a load capacity of 170,200 cubic metres of gas. It is the first in a series of ships to be built by STX Offshore & Shipbuilding in South Korea and becomes the fifth LNG carrier in Gazprom’s fleet of long-term-charter tankers