ARCTIC METAGAZ

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Course/Position

Latest news

Tanker had to reverse due to ice buildup

The 'Arctic Metagas', a tanker without ice protection, had to reversed its course and remained stopped near the edge of the sea ice on the Northern Sea Route. The vessel’s struggles highlighted the challenges for non ice-class vessels in Arctic shipping, even during the summer months. The 'Arctic Metagaz' is part of Russia’s expanding shadow fleet of LNG carriers in service of the sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project. The tanker idled in the East Siberian Sea around 48 hours after it reversed course. The vessel was passing through patches of remaining summer sea ice following in proximity to the nuclear icebreaker 'Sibir' on Aug 29 when it began backtracking her initial course just after midnight UTC. The vessel had departed from the port of Murmansk around Aug 19, carrying sanctioned supercooled gas in search of buyers in Asia. From Aug 29 to Aug 3, the vessel was backtracking and idling at a speed of zero knots at the edge of the sea ice. The 'Sibir' has been working for several weeks in the East Siberian Sea in an effort to open up shipping lanes through persistent summer sea ice along the Northern Sea Route. Russian ice charts were showing considerable ice coverage in the waters near Pevek, ranging from 10 to 60 %, including grounded hummocks. The summer season 2025 was the second year in a row when sea ice blocked the eastern reaches of the route even during late summer.

Sanctioned tankers permitted to sail Northern Sea Route

During the recent days of late May, 2025, at least a half-dozen sanctioned LNG carriers have received permits to sail Russia’s Northern Sea Route during the summer months. The vessels were including the last summer’s shadow fleet carriers 'Arctic Metagas' (ex-'Everest Energy') and 'Arctic Mulan' (ex-'Mulan'), as well as the recently-reflagged and sanctioned tanker 'Iris' (ex-'North Sky'), 'Buran' (ex-'North Air'), 'Voskhod (ex-'North Mountain'), and 'Zarya' (ex-'North Way'). In total, almost 30 LNG tankers have now been granted permits to travel through Russia’s Arctic waters in the coming months. Among them are at least six conventional gas tankers without any ice-class. The bulk of the fleet remained unsanctioned and was operating legally, carrying liquefied gas from the Yamal LNG project.

Russian shadow tanker threatened by ice

The 'Everest Energy', operated by a recently establish India-registered enterprise, sails across Arctic waters as part of a shady Russian scheme established to bypass sanctions in Russia’s covert efforts to ship liquified natural gas from the sanctions-ridden Arctic LNG 2 project. Along with a fleet of at least seven vessels, the 'Everest Energy' is involved in the shipments from the port of Utrenny in the Gulf of Ob. This week, the ship made port call in Utrenny, the terminal in the Gulf of Ob, and picked up LNG from the Arctic LNG 2 production facility frp, Sep 7-8. It subsequently set course for east Arctic waters and markets in Asia. However, although clearly located in the area, the ship is not listed in the registries of the Northern Sea Route Administration, the Russian state body that regulates shipments on the route. All ships that sail in the remote Russian Arctic waters are normally listed in registry. The 'Everest Energy' and the other notorious tankers are hired by Novatek and its partners to circumnavigate sanctions. The shady operations are supported from the highest level in Moscow. The Russians have found useful partners in India. The ship owner is the Ocean Speedstar Solutions Opc Private Ltd., a company registered in Mumbai and established in Jan 2024. The 'Everest Energy'will inevitably encounter sea-ice on its voyage along the Russian Arctic coast, as parts of the North Siberian Sea and the Chukchi Sea still have significant volumes of sea-ice. The carrier has a sea-ice classification of +1A1, which means that it is able to operate in light ice conditions and localized drift ice.