Britain is sanctioning Russian LNG carriers before some begin commercial trading, while Japan has targeted oil tankers linked to Sovcomflot, according to a Kpler report published by Hellenic Shipping News. The measures extend vessel-level restrictions around the Russian shipping group, which has been under UK sanctions since March 2022.
The UK added 31 entries to its Russia sanctions list on 1 October, including eight ships and Novatek Gas and Power Asia, Novatek’s Singapore-based chartering business. The vessel designations cover ships carrying, or expected to carry, Russian LNG to third countries. They include the Russian-built Arc7 carriers Aleksey Kosygin, Konstantin Posiet and Pyotr Stolypin, alongside older conventional LNG vessels.
Pyotr Stolypin had no commercial cargo recorded in Kpler’s data through 5 October and was classified as launched but not operational. Konstantin Posiet had recorded no direct international export, while Aleksey Kosygin had completed one when designated. The latter had also transferred LNG domestically from Arctic LNG 2 to the Saam floating storage unit at Murmansk. The report interprets these listings as evidence that a ship’s intended employment can prompt sanctions before it establishes an export record.
The restrictions coincide with rising Arctic LNG 2 shipments. Kpler recorded 14 export cargoes carried by 13 vessels between 17 July and 5 October 2026, totalling about 0.95 million tonnes, against 0.54 million tonnes throughout 2025. All cargoes with identified destinations went to China, including ten to PipeChina’s Beihai terminal. Only two shipments used Arc7 vessels. Nevertheless, the report highlights the new carriers’ importance for winter operations because they are designed to access the terminal through heavy ice without icebreaker assistance.
Japan’s package, imposed a day after Britain’s, listed 35 vessels: 27 crude tankers, four product or chemical tankers and four general cargo or ro-ro ships. It also froze assets of 33 Russian entities and nine individuals. Kpler identified five listed tankers as beneficially owned by Sovcomflot, making the group the common ownership link across the two countries’ vessel lists.
For maritime operators, the measures precede the UK prohibition on maritime and insurance services for Russian LNG from 1 January 2027, when the EU phase-out under long-term contracts also takes effect. The report stresses that permission to trade under transitional arrangements must be assessed separately from sanctions applying to the ships and companies involved.