On Monday, December 16, the Council of the European Union adopted a 15th package of economic sanctions against Russia. Measures against entities or personalities put in place following the invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022, in order to constrain Moscow's war effort.
Among the new sanctions, the list of ships subject to a ban on access to European ports and a ban on providing a wide range of services related to maritime transport has been extended. No less than 52 new units have been added, bringing the total number of designated vessels to 79. This measure targets in particular “non-European tankers which are part of Putin's ghost fleet which circumvents the oil price capping mechanism or which support the Russian energy sector, or ships responsible for transporting military equipment for Russia or involved in the transport of stolen Ukrainian grain,” specifies the Council of the European Union.
Among the new vessels targeted is the Christophe de Margerie, the first of the fleet of Arc7 LNG carriers built to export liquefied gas produced by the Yamal LNG terminal, a project led by the Russian group Novatek (60%), Total (20%) and China National Petroleum Corporation, which was commissioned at the end of 2017. In June of that same year, the Christophe de Margerie, built by the Korean shipyard Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, was inaugurated with great fanfare in Saint Petersburg, in the presence of Vladimir Putin. Belonging to the Russian shipowner Sovcomflot and managed directly by Yamal LNG, this ship was named in honor of the former president of the French group Total, who died in a plane crash in Moscow in the fall of 2014. Long 299 meters, capable of carrying 172,600 m3 of LNG and capable of crossing ice more than 2 meters thick, the Christophe de Margerie was the first in a series of 15 vessels, the others being operated by international shipowners, such as Mitsui OSK Line, Teekay and Dynagas. A fleet responsible for transporting LNG produced on the Siberian Yamal Peninsula from the port of Sabetta to Europe or Asia via the Arctic. European ports were the first and main customers of this LNG traffic, partly transhipped onto traditional LNG ships to supply various international markets. In France, the Dunkerque and Montoir-de-Bretagne LNG terminals, near Saint-Nazaire, have received numerous Arc7s from Yamal since 2018, including the Christophe de Margerie, for direct supplies or transshipments.
Christophe de Margerie arriving in Saint-Nazaire in 2018.
The Christophe de Margerie at the Montoir LNG terminal in April 2018, transshipping its cargo of Siberian LNG aboard the Grace Cosmos.
This fleet of ice-breaking LNG carriers has enabled Russia to export millions of m3 of LNG to Europe or, via it through transshipments, to reach other international markets. An activity which had not yet fallen under the sanctions, these supplies being considered by certain European countries as necessary. So much so that, if shipments of Russian gas to Europe via pipelines have virtually ceased following the outbreak of war in Ukraine, arrivals of LNG in French ports, or even in Zeebrugge in Belgium, continue. It was not until the 14th package of sanctions, approved on June 20, that the European Union began to tackle this activity. Thus, LNG transshipment operations from Russia will be prohibited in EU ports from March 2025. Direct supplies for European needs can nevertheless continue.
The Christophe de Margerie on technical stop in Brest in 2021.
Apart from its commercial operations, it should be noted that the Christophe de Margerie will no longer be able to carry out its technical stops in Europe, as was the case in 2021 at the Damen shipyard in Brest, which had ensured its five-yearly overhaul and regularly welcomes other Arc7 type LNG carriers.
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