Just days after the EU banned the transshipment of Russian LNG, Russia deployed four LNG tankers, the 'Nikolay Urvantsev' (IMO: 9750660) and the 'Vladimir Rusanov' (IMO: 9750701), both controlled by the Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd, which rendezvoused with the 'Lena River' and 'Clean Vision' for an unusual double ship-to-ship transfer at the Kildin anchorage near Murmansk. The vessels were carrying supercooled gas from the Yamal LNG project operated by Russian company Novatek. The four vesselswere pairing up just south of Kildin island between March 28 and March 31, 2025. An STS transfer routinely takes around 36-48 hours. The 'Lena River' had departed from China at the end of 2024. The vessel subsequently idled for weeks in the North, Celtic and Barents Seas. The 'Clean Vision' had left from Mirs Bay near Shenzhen on Feb 21. The 'Nikolay Urvantsev' and 'Vladimir Rusanov' both had sailed from the Yamal LNG plant around a week ago.
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STAR 1
Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy has confiscated two tankers in the Persian Gulf waters during an operation on March 31, 2025, the 'Star 1' and 'Vintage', which were carrying over three million liters of smuggled diesel fuel. All 25 crew members of the two tankers were also arrested. The tankers were transferred to Bushehr port, where the diesel will be offloaded under court orders. Iran, has long faced challenges with fuel smuggling, particularly in its southern maritime borders, as the significant price difference of fuel between Iran and the neighbouring countries has made fuel smuggling a lucrative illegal trade. The price of diesel fuel in Iran is only 3,000 rials ($0.003) per liter for limited monthly quotas while the fuel is available at 6,000 rials per liter for unlimited usage by truck drivers and farmers using heavy machinery. The two tankers were singled out via intelligence monitoring at the Bushehr port.
CLEAN VISION
Just days after the EU banned the transshipment of Russian LNG, Russia deployed four LNG tankers, the 'Nikolay Urvantsev' (IMO: 9750660) and the 'Vladimir Rusanov' (IMO: 9750701), both controlled by the Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd, which rendezvoused with the 'Lena River' (IMO: 9629598) and 'Clean Vision' for an unusual double ship-to-ship transfer at the Kildin anchorage near Murmansk. The vessels were carrying supercooled gas from the Yamal LNG project operated by Russian company Novatek. The four vesselswere pairing up just south of Kildin island between March 28 and March 31, 2025. An STS transfer routinely takes around 36-48 hours. The 'Lena River' had departed from China at the end of 2024. The vessel subsequently idled for weeks in the North, Celtic and Barents Seas. The 'Clean Vision' had left from Mirs Bay near Shenzhen on Feb 21. The 'Nikolay Urvantsev' and 'Vladimir Rusanov' both had sailed from the Yamal LNG plant around a week ago.
GNV SEALAND
On March 31, 2025, the 'GNV SEALAND', en route from Palma to Valencia, requested the medical evacuation of a passenger 45 nautical miles west of Mallorca. The CCS Palma of Salvamento Marítimo mobilized the SAR helicopter Helimer 222, which hoisted the patient and transferred him to the helipad of the Son Espases Hospital.
NIKOLAY URVANTSEV
Just days after the EU banned the transshipment of Russian LNG, Russia deployed four LNG tankers, the 'Nikolay Urvantsev' and the 'Vladimir Rusanov' (IMO: 9750701), both controlled by the Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd, which rendezvoused with the 'Lena River' (IMO: 9629598) and 'Clean Vision' (IMO: 9655456) for an unusual double ship-to-ship transfer at the Kildin anchorage near Murmansk. The vessels were carrying supercooled gas from the Yamal LNG project operated by Russian company Novatek. The four vesselswere pairing up just south of Kildin island between March 28 and March 31, 2025. An STS transfer routinely takes around 36-48 hours. The 'Lena River' had departed from China at the end of 2024. The vessel subsequently idled for weeks in the North, Celtic and Barents Seas. The 'Clean Vision' had left from Mirs Bay near Shenzhen on Feb 21. The 'Nikolay Urvantsev' and 'Vladimir Rusanov' both had sailed from the Yamal LNG plant around a week ago.