Two ships carrying natural gas were spotted by a European satellite in the Mediterranean. The reason behind this?

European satellite captures ships carrying natural gas in the Mediterranean: Russian LNG in the spotlight

Two ships carrying natural gas were captured by a European satellite in the Mediterranean, and the reason behind this is Russian LNG. One of those ships, the Pioneer, was blacklisted by the United States last Friday, raising suspicions about Russian maneuvers to circumvent international sanctions.

A revealing satellite image Sentinel-2, of the European Space Agency, shows two ships close to each other, about 30 km northeast of Port Said, Egypt, at the entrance to the Suez Canal. The image suggests that Russia is in the midst of developing a fleet of specialized LNG tankers.

The operation of ships carrying natural gas

According to investigations by TankerTrackers.com, The two ships carrying natural gas are the Pioneer, already under US sanctions, and the New Energy, which has not yet been sanctioned. Pioneer is reportedly transferring Russian natural gas to New Energy, a strategic move to avoid the country's strict export restrictions.

Before being transported, natural gas is cooled and stored in a liquid state, transforming into liquefied natural gas (LNG). These LNG carriers are true technological marvels, designed to keep the hydrocarbon at a temperature of -160 degrees Celsius.

The transfer of fuel between ships, known as STS (Ship to Ship Transfer), is a highly technical and high-risk operation, especially when it comes to LNG. This makes the presence of these vessels in the Mediterranean an even greater rarity.

Ghost fleet

The Pioneer, now sanctioned by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), is one of the first ships to transport natural gas from the new Arctic LNG 2 plant located in western Siberia. The ship is operated by Ocean Speedstar Solutions, an Indian company. On the other hand, the New Energy, which has been operated by Plio Energy Cargo Shipping since June, raises suspicions of being part of a “ghost fleet”, as reported by Bloomberg.

The suspicion is that Moscow is assembling a fleet of tankers to circumvent American sanctions, a strategy similar to the one already used for the transportation of crude oil and derivatives. Once the transfer of Pioneer to New Energy is complete, New Energy is likely to head through the Suez Canal toward Asia, where it will find buyers willing to purchase Russian gas.

Tracking these ships

Tracking these ships carrying natural gas will not be an easy task. Energy tankers such as these often hide their locations by turning off or tampering with their automatic identification systems, making them difficult for international authorities to monitor..

This situation in the Mediterranean is a clear reflection of the complex web of strategies that Russia has used to maintain its flow of natural resource exports, even in the face of severe international sanctions. The use of satellites, such as Sentinel-2, has been essential in capturing these movements, highlighting Russia's ingenuity – and persistence – in maintaining its presence in the global energy market.