Aleksey-Kosygin

On Jan 26, 2026, the 'Aleksey Kosygin' has arrived at the Utrenniy terminal to presumably load its inaugural cargo from the Arctic LNG 2 project, marking the completion of a two-week ice trial transit along the Northern Sea Route. The vessel’s arrival expanded the winter export capacity of Russia’s sanctioned flagship LNG project. For part of the passage, the LNG tanker had sailed with the assistance from the nuclear icebreaker 'Sibir'. The two vessels parted ways in the latter stages of the voyage, withthe tanker completing the final few hundred nautical miles in the Kara Sea, entirely on its own. Completing this leg unescorted in the depths of winter was being viewed as a strong vote of confidence in the vessel’s capabilities and independent operability. The vessel pulled up alongside Train 1 of the Arctic LNG 2 facility around 8:00 a.m. The loading represents the 29th cargo lifted since production began in August 2024 and the sixth loading this winter season since December.

The newly delivered Arc7 ice-class LNG tanker 'Alexey Kosygin' has started its maiden voyage from Bolshoy Kamen and headed towards the Northern Sea Route (NSR), as the state-controlled Sovcomflot is eager to begin deploying the vessel to support the sanctioned Novatek Arctic LNG 2 (ALNG2) project. The tanker was formally handed over from the Zvezda shipyard to Sovcomflot just over a week ago and has since set course northward toward the NSR and the Utrenniy terminal on the Gydan Peninsula. Its movement, likely including ice trials en route, were reflecting the urgency in getting the vessel into operational service during the winter months, when conventional carriers are unable to reach the project. En route to the Arctic, the 'Alexey Kosygin' moored alongside the Koryak FSU on Jan 6, 2026, likely to test FSU berthing and ship-to-ship procedures with its new crew. Sovcomflot applied for a Northern Sea Route permit a week ago on Dec 30. The permit was granted on Jan 5, giving the 'Alexey Kosygin' the right to travel independently without an icebreaker through sections 1-28 of the NSR until Jan 31, which is a sufficient window for completing trials and reaching the Arctic LNG 2 project. It also includes a stipulation effective Feb 1, allowing independent operation even in severe ice conditions through sections 1-7, the route from ALNG2 via Ob Bay into the Kara Sea en route to the Barents Sea transshipment point. This suggested a planned entry into service for the LNG project after Feb 1.

The 'Aelxei Kosigyn', the first domestically built LNG carrier with ice classification Arc7 has been handed over to Sovcomflot at the Zvezda Yard in Bolshoy Kamen on Dec 24, 2025., which will be used to circumnavigate sanctions in the Russian Arctic.. On Dec 29, the LNG carrier set out on its first Arctic voyage. It,will sail on the Northern Sea Route towards the terminal of Utrenny on the Gydan Peninsula. The The ship was named after a Communist leader that for more than three decades held top posts in the Soviet Union. The vessel subsequently set a course again for the Gydan Peninsula and the Utrenny terminal. The shipments indicated that the Saam FSU now will become a key hub for Russia's shipments of sanctioned LNG, and that the tanker 'Christophe de Margerie' will shuttle between Gydan and the Ura Bay. On Dec 19, the 'shadow tanker' made port call at the Utrenny terminal after a several thousand-kilometre-long voyage across the ice-covered Northern Sea Route. The Saam FSU was built for shipments from the Arctic LNG 2, but has lain idle for more than two years. The 'Alexei Kosigyn' might ultimately participate in shipments between the sanctioned natural gas infrastructure objects.